Since the country went on lockdown at midnight on March 26, 2020, reclaimers have been locked out of landfills and cannot work in the streets. South Africa’s measures to flatten the COVID-19 infection curve are making reclaimers’ situation even worse. Instead, they earn a pittance when they sell what they collect. South Africa’s 60,000 to 90,000 reclaimers collect an astonishing 80% to 90% of used packaging and paper that are recycled, providing crucial inputs for production and saving municipalities up to R750 million a year (US$41.7 million) in potential landfill costs.ĭespite their significant contributions, reclaimers in South Africa (as in most countries) are not paid for the service they provide. The recyclables are subsequently resold for export or as inputs for production. They sell the materials to small buyback centres, who sell them to larger buyers. After salvaging the recyclables, the reclaimers haul them great distances, sort and clean them.
This is thanks in large part to reclaimers who, through what I call their ‘separation outside source’ system, separate people’s recyclables, just outside their homes and at landfills. Yet the country has recycling rates comparable to European countries for some materials. As only 10,8% of urban households separate their waste, most of the recyclable items get thrown away. South Africa generates 59 million tonnes of general waste a year. One thing that remains unchanged is that we continue to produce massive amounts of waste each day. Lockdowns to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus are dramatically transforming people’s daily lives across the world.
The clock is ticking: in the absence of government support, not being able to work means waste reclaimers don't have money to buy food. SAs response to COVID-19 worsens the plight of waste reclaimers
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