Do we really need waste reclaimers or are they just a nuisance?

Some statistics about waste reclaimers and how they help our city:

• There are approximately 8 000 reclaimers in the city.
• Without them, South Africa’s recycling economy would not exist, and Johannesburg’s landfills would have closed long ago.
• The four legal landfills will be full in less than three years.
• Reclaimers salvage recyclables from rubbish bins. They do this because many residents still throw away recyclables.
• In South Africa, only around 10% of urban households separate their waste, with most recyclable items being thrown away (Stats, 2018).
• According to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, reclaimers collect 80–90% of all used packaging and paper that is recycled, and waste reclaimers save South African municipalities up to R748 million a year in landfill space.

Source: Prof. Melanie Samson, Associate Professor in Sociology at the University of Johannesburg.

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