A group of Centurion waste pickers has started their own initiative to clean the site they stay in and work from despite the threat of eviction.
The “mushroom compound” across from SuperSport Park in West Avenue has for years been used as an informal waste sorting station.
And “Bagarezi” have formed a committee to oversee the bi-weekly clean-up initiative on Mondays and Fridays.
The group faces possible eviction by the Tshwane metro.
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Bagarezi representative Stefan van der Westhuizen said the group of almost 100 residents decided to undertake the initiative to improve living conditions.
“The group have formed the ‘Mushroom Self-Determination Fund’,” said Van der Westhuizen.
“They pay a portion of their meagre earnings into the fund in order to clean the compound.”
The rules are simple: if you want to stay at the compound you have to do your part.
“The Bagarezi want to make it clear from their side that they are not lazy. They want to help clean the area.”
The influx of people to the station continued to be a problem, Van der Westhuizen said.
“People are coming in but aren’t being regulated. It increases competition, infighting and is detrimental to the Bagarezi.”
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The people meanwhile continue to live in squalor.
The metro had yet to engage the group on what it would do to solve these problems.
Earlier this year, the department of environmental affairs estimated that “waste pickers” saved municipalities up to R750 million in landfill space each year.
On Thursday morning metro representatives visited the compound in an apparent attempt to count the people living there.
In January, the Pretoria high court found the metro had a constitutional obligation to provide the Bagarezi with emergency accommodation and alternative accommodation where an eviction was likely to result in homelessness.
The metro had not responded to requests for comment at the time of going to print.
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