Luyanda’s story
RANDPARK – Luyanda Hlatshwayo calls himself a proud reclaimer', and shared his story and vision with the community of Randpark.
Luyanda Hlatshwayo calls himself a proud ‘reclaimer’ and shared his story and vision with the community of Randpark. He got into recycling as he lost his job, and before then, he studied accounting at Wits University.
“Finances did not go well during my studies, so I went into the catering business, working in the restaurant industry for three years. I was heavily asthmatic and it was difficult for me to work in that environment, so I had to consider my health.
“A friend of mine was doing well with recycling and he recommended that I get into it. Since 2013 I have been able to provide for my mother and my daughter,” he said.
Hlatshwayo lives in Newtown but works predominantly in Fairland.
He said, “I wake up in the morning around 3.30am to get to Fairland around 6am before the bins get put out on Wilson Street. When I get there and I start, I can spend up to 15 minutes on one bin as the materials have not been separated, and many times I find there is nothing of value.”
He explained how he and his organisation would like the community to come on board by separating their recyclable goods from that of non-recyclables.
“If we didn’t have to dig through all the other dirt to get to the recyclables, we would not have to be so dirty. There is so much information online about what is and what isn’t recyclable, we ask that you take some time to find out this information as it would help us out a great deal.”
Many people sadly often picture ‘waste pickers’ as dirty scavengers, rather than a person who is conducting a great service to the community, city, and the environment, and more simply, a person who needs to make money to support their family.
“The core issue is the thousands of people who are making livelihoods for themselves and they are not begging for money, but there is still a stigma that we are ‘dirty’.”
Hlatshwayo also wishes that people can see reclaimers as expert individuals. Reclaimers have a wide knowledge learned from their labour and others in their industry about recycled materials.
“Not all plastics and metals are the same, so you need to know which ones you can gather to take to your chosen recycling plant, and we even have some people that specialise in certain kinds of materials.
“Do not think that we are all uneducated. If you listen to our stories, you will find that some of us are qualified doctors or engineers who have fallen on hard times. But it is these skills that we have learned from elsewhere that we use to help others and apply it to our work.”
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