UPDATE: Recyclers plead to be formalised
The hub in the veld on Solomon Mahlangu Road is occupied by about 50 people who collect and sell recyclable materials.
Amid rising tensions with local residents and security officers, a group of informal recyclers operating in Waterkloof in the east of Pretoria has asked authorities to move them to a more “formal” location.
Currently, the group of about 50 people, who collect and sell recyclable materials, are operating from an open field in Solomon Mahlangu Road in Waterkloof.
ALSO READ: UPDATE: East informal recyclers to be moved
“We want the government to move us to a spot where we can operate without being accused of crimes we do not commit,” said Tony Shanda (35) one of the recyclers, also known as the “Bagerezi” in some areas.
“We are just trying to make a living.”
Shanda said the group was often “terrorised” by private security guards, who accuse them of being criminals.
“Recently one of us was beaten by security guards who accused him of stealing household appliances,” he said.
“Sometimes criminals use this veld to make their escape, but that does not mean that we are involved in anything. If anything, we can help security and police in identifying these criminals.”
He said nearby residents often made negative remarks about the Bagerezi or blame them after their homes have been broken into.
ALSO READ: VIDEOS: How to recycle everyday household items
“They don’t want us here.”
Residents and local businesses have been up in arms about the so-called “sorting hub” which formed about a year ago; blaming a spike in crime in the area on the informal recyclers, some of whom now live permanently in the veld.
The recycler said they often visited different areas to search for recycling material.
“We know all the days on which rubbish is collected and go to those areas and get what we want and then we leave,” he said.
“Surely that is not a crime.”
Waste picker activist Stefan van der Westhuizen said relocating the group would not solve the problem as “new tenants” would simply move in.
“Waste pickers come to suburban areas for socio-economic reasons, it is where their ‘products’ are,” he said.
“Relocating them to an industrial area is not a viable option. Others will just move in at the same spot.”
He said the metro should build collecting and sorting stations in each suburb with nearby hostels to house waste pickers.
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