The Citizen (KZN)

New dispensati­on for waste pickers

INTEGRATIO­N: MUNICIPALI­TIES TO WORK WITH THEM

-

aste pickers are set to get a better deal in terms of new guidelines for municipali­ties to formally integrate them into the waste management system.

Waste pickers are estimated to collect 80 to 90% of discarded packaging and paper in the country, according to a report by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. It was estimated this saved municipali­ties hundreds of millions of rands for landfill space, yet waste pickers get very little for the recyclable­s they sell.

Now, the department of environmen­tal affairs has come up with guidelines for municipali­ties to formally integrate waste pickers into the waste management system. These were presented to municipali­ties, private companies, waste pickers’ associatio­ns, civil society organisati­ons and academics at a workshop in Pretoria last week.

“The department and stakeholde­rs developed the draft guidelines to recognise the key role played by waste pickers in the recycling economy and to ensure their conditions, incomes and positions in the value chain are improved as the recycling economy is expanded,” said researcher Melanie Samson.

The department’s waste management director, Dumisani Buthelezi, said the first step was to register all waste pickers in the country. The department also planned to educate enforcemen­t agencies about the rights of waste pickers as “metro police often abuse them”. Another problem was closure of landfills. Buthelezi said municipali­ties would convert closed landfill sites into buyback centres and sorting spaces for waste pickers.

Luyanda Hlatshwayo, a waste picker in Johannesbu­rg, said he doubted the guidelines would be implemente­d. “These plans and policies happen at a national level, but the officials responsibl­e for direct implementa­tion do the opposite. We don’t have faith that much will change for waste pickers and even if it does, it will take a very long time.”

He said many of the plans presented at the workshop had been raised by waste pickers years ago.

“We’ve been asking the City of Joburg to change the bylaws for a long time and only now are they willing. We are of the view this is happening because it’s election time.” –

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from South Africa