The socio-economic differences between landfill and street waste pickers in the Free State province of South Africa

ABSTRACT

Waste picking is an important survival strategy of many people throughout the developing world. South Africa has a sizeable waste picker population who ply their trade on municipal landfill sites as well as on the streets of cities and towns. This study lifts the lid on this neglected area of research by analysing and comparing landfill and street waste pickers side by side in a socio-economic context. Samples of waste pickers were drawn from the three main municipalities of Mangaung, Matjhabeng and Metsimaholo in the Free State province of South Africa and a questionnaire-based survey was conducted. Among the findings was that waste picking offers a financial lifeline when, due to inadequate schooling and grinding poverty, individuals would be hard pressed to find employment in the formal economy. The study lays an important foundation for further comparative and qualitative research into this important segment of South Africa’s informal economy.

KEYWORDS:

• Informal economy
• recyclable waste
• waste picking
• street waste pickers
• landfill waste pickers
• waste management system

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge that all mistakes and omissions remain their own. In addition, the authors appreciate the valuable comments provided by the anonymous referees on the earlier draft submitted.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

¹Bloemfontein, Welkom and Sasolburg are the main cities in the three local municipalities and formed the basis of the study.

²Collecting reliable income-related data is often difficult in a study of this nature because, apart from possible misunderstandings on the part of the respondents, the latter could be reluctant to share sensitive information about their earning capabilities. While the data should therefore be viewed with circumspection, they do reflect general income trends among the waste picking fraternity.

³The US$/ZAR exchange rate was US$1/ZAR10.8750 on 19 February 2014 (Reuters 2014).

Additional information

Funding

The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support given to them by the Small and Medium Enterprise Observatory of South Africa, hosted by the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs of the Free State province and the International Labour Organization.