Road signs to enhance safety
GREENSIDE – The warning signs encourage other road users to be wary of recyclers approaching around a curve.
The recyclers in Greenside are most grateful for the safety signs installed just a few metres outside their collection depot.
Manager of the WastePreneurs non-profit organisation (NPO), Godfrey Phakedi said he realised the corner on Victory Road where it meets Rogaly and 7th streets, is a sharp curve to the right, when coming from the north, but if you are from the south, it is a sharp curve to the left, which makes it very dangerous.
“So, it is a very dangerous area for the waste pickers because they have to use that corner which is full of motorists. So, for everyone to be aware of the waste pickers, I figured we really needed a sign to warn everyone that somebody is approaching. So, we decided to put a sign that shows everyone there is a waste picker on the road,” Phakedi said.
He added that nothing had happened before the signs were installed but he just walked around and noticed the corner was unsafe, therefore needed to add safety measure. Phakedi said there are four signs on the curve so far.
He added, “We advise the waste pickers to avoid the dangerous routes and take safer ones. The waste pickers from my site go through Zoo Lake, and a school on the way, which allows them to pass through, I encourage them to avoid the busy roads like Jan Smuts and Barry Hertzog avenues.
Chairman of Adopt a Project Foundation, Steve Jourdan said the WastePreneurs was one of their adopted projects and with Covid-19 and increased levels of unemployment were forcing scores of low-skilled and unskilled people into the lower tiers of the informal economy. Jourdan highlighted that most people now resorted to making a living through recycling. “The informal sector accounts for between 80 to 90 per cent of all recycled waste in South Africa. There is no formal sector for it and in Johannesburg alone about 8 000 people are waste pickers and the numbers will keep increasing. It is therefore important for motorists to be aware of the waste pickers and both parties should share a mutual respect for each other.”
The chairman added that the signs on the bend also remind WastePreneurs to keep off the road and stay on the specially constructed pavement. Jourdan said one quote that sat with him after he had interviewed one of the waste pickers was when the waste picker said, ‘If we were any poorer, we’d be dead’.
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