South Africa: Tshwane Waste Pickers Gearing Up to Work With the City

press release

Since 2010 five landfill sites have been closed in the Tshwane area leading to the displacement of more than 500 waste pickers, who depend on waste recovery as bread and butter for themselves and their families. SAWPA [1] and groundWork [2], South African Local Government Association (SALGA) [3], Women in Informal Employment and Global Organising (WIEGO) [4] have been calling for negotiations with the city since 2007.

SAWPA's footprint spreads over all 9 provinces in South Africa. According to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research there are up to 90 000 people that earn a livelihood through the informal waste sector. SAWPA is based on waste dump sites and in cities across the country, with all its members involved in collecting and selling waste as a livelihood strategy. Waste pickers divert and recycle materials such as plastic, cardboard, paper, metals away from waste dumps, where waste resulted in increased greenhouse gas emissions and worsening impacts of climate change.

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