Hundreds of informal waste pickers get overalls, gloves, etc.
“It requires long, physically demanding hours on the streets to collect recyclables and take them to their nearest buy-back locations.”
Around 300 so-called “waste pickers” in Tshwane received personal protective equipment donated by the local municipality and national forestry, fisheries and environment department on Tuesday.
They received work overalls, gloves and masks. The items were part of the department’s Covid-19 relief fund package.
The waste pickers work from several metro-owned buy-back centres in Ga-Rankuwa, Stinkwater, Hammanskraal, Atteridgeville as well as the Soshanguve and Heatherly landfill sites, according to Tshwane environment and agriculture management MCC Dana Wannenburg.
Informal waste pickers collect re-usable and recyclable materials from residential and commercial waste bins and landfill sites to generate income.
These materials are then sold to buy-back centres and other collection companies that in turn sell the materials to recycling companies that reprocessed the materials for use in manufacturing.
“This is the only source of income for many informal waste recyclers,” said Wannenburg.
“It requires long, physically demanding hours on the streets to collect recyclables and take them to their nearest buy-back locations.”
According to him, waste pickers played an important role as “recycling is an important part of waste management in South Africa and Tshwane”.
He said their important role would be recognised in the metro’s planned changes to waste management by-laws and recycling policies that were “in the process of finalisation”.
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