Voices of Joburg: Music-loving recycler
JOBURG - We see them on the streets across Gauteng, and while they sometimes disrupt the flow of traffic, they, too, are just trying to make a living – we’re talking about recyclers.
City Buzz was making our way through Newtown in Johannesburg and we came across a recycler who was sifting through piles of rubbish before Pikitup arrived.
Having asked the man if he had anything to tell us, he slowly began to open up about the life he lives recycling material he collects from dumps and rubbish bins.
“It’s not an easy job to recycle these things,” said the recycler.
“It’s easy to pick up the things from the bins, but it’s not nice to live with people looking at me like I am the rubbish over here.”
Asked why he said people think of him as rubbish, he responded, “You can see the way these people look at you. They are so rude to us. They don’t understand that this is our work. Just like they go to the office to finish their work, we come to the streets.”
City Buzz asked the man why he did what he did for a living and why not rather find another job.
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“It’s not that easy for us,” he said.
“We don’t have an education and we don’t have money to wear a nice suit to go for an interview. Some of us are also very old and people don’t want to employ us.”
City Buzz asked, “What would you be interested in doing if you could?”
“I like music. If I could learn how to make music so that I can let people enjoy what I do, that’s how I would live,” he said.
Making his way on to the next spot where he could find the necessary material, the recycler said, “Maybe if I get into the newspaper, someone will teach me music.”
Music and respect for his hustle are all this recycler wants.
