Peoples’ trash is his livelihood
Sabatha Mpothu (27), from Turffontein West, has been depending on residents' trash ever since he abandoned his family in Evaton Vaal.
BEING a street recycler isn’t what Mpothu desires to do for the rest of his life. He wishes to become a prominent businessman but for now, gathering trash is what keeps him afloat.
Sabatha Mpothu (27), from Turffontein West, has been depending on residents’ trash ever since he abandoned his family in Evaton Vaal.
He has relied on waste for more than a decade and scratches through people’s rubbish bins and the streets around Turffontein.
Sabatha dropped out of school just after his mother passed away. He hands in unwanted plastic bottles, cans, glass bottles, polystyrene containers and cups for recycling and gets money for that. Sabatha makes R70 a day and with that money, buys food and clothes.
“This life that I live now was by choice, not because I don’t see eye to eye with my family. I realised that I don’t have any qualification under my belt and, therefore, decided to leave my family to try and support myself. People may think that picking up trash is useless but for street recyclers, this is our job and we depend on it,’’ Sabatha told the COURIER.
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