Living on what others throw away: an exploration of a socio-economic circumstances of people collecting and selling recyclable waste
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Date
2011
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Unisa Press
Abstract
Street waste pickers are becoming a common sight on the streets of South Africa’s cities and
suburbs. Little research has been done on this social phenomenon. The aim of this article is to
explore some of the socioeconomic circumstances of the people who collect recyclable waste in
South Africa’s cities. The research identifies the pivotal role played by the waste pickers in the waste
management system even if they are unaware of it. Being a waste picker offers unskilled,
unemployed people the opportunity to enter the informal economy in order to earn or augment their
income. The social service professional can play a supportive role at different levels such as
psychosocial support and at policy level. Several areas of further research are identified.
Description
Keywords
Socio-economic, Waste management system, Social service professionals
Citation
Schenck, C. & Blaauw, D. (2011). Living on what others throw away: an exploration of a socio-economic circumstances of people collecting and selling recyclable waste. The Social Work Practitioner-Researcher/ Die Maatskaplikewerk Navorser-Praktisyn, 23(2): 135 - 153