Recycling is his treasure ticket to survival

This wisdom rings true for Mandla Nkosi from Van Dyk Park, who makes a living through recycling.

Despite a lack of education during his childhood, Nkosi has proven that with an entrepreneurial spirit one can thrive and survive in South Africa.

Nkosi was born in the Eastern Cape in a rural area called Hhobeni. He said he enjoyed every minute of his childhood days as he learnt a lot about life.

His mother died when he was still young and he was raised by his grandmother.

Nkosi did not get the opportunity to go to school, as he was herding his grandmother’s cattle.

“In 1992 I decided to go look for a job and luckily I got employed at Anglo Gold Mine. In 1996 I seized the opportunity of studying ABET level one to three when the mine opened a school.

“The reason why I pushed myself to study is that I knew one day I would open my own business, so I had get an education in order to deal with business-related matters,” Nkosi said.

The go-getter is studying towards his level four this year and next year he will be doing Grade 12.

The 47-year-old said he worked at Anglo Gold mine until the year 2000 and started working in construction and recycling part-time.

He eventually focused on recycling as he realised it held more promise of making a living than construction.

According to Nkosi, through his recycling business he was able to buy two vans, put food on the table and pay his children’s school fees.

“I regret not venturing into recycling earlier because I could have achieved more in this industry. What I noticed about recycling is that the job is like food – we can never run out of food and recycling is exactly like that.

“A person who works as a recycler works until he or she grows tired, but the demand never stops,” Nkosi said.

Nkosi started his own recycling business in 2010, and through it has created employment for 12 people.

According to Nkosi, you do not get a lot of sleep when in the recycling business, and you must be prepared to be dirty all the time.

“At 5am I am already awake and ready to hit the road. We go around Boksburg searching through dumps and we take things that we know are recyclable.

“When we are done sorting the items accordingly, we sell them.”

Describing himself as a hard worker, Nkosi said that to run a business you need determination, discipline and the ability to plan for the future.

“I am proud of myself because when I started the business, I was so scared of what people would say when they saw me fiddling in dustbins.

“I am glad I overcame my pride in order to earn income and put food on the table. I am happy that I have supportive family and friends who encourage me to continue the work that I’m doing,” he said.

Nkosi dreams about going to university and studying towards environmental studies.

He is also a committee member of ward 31, where he is in charge of the environmental portfolio.