Precarious, more precarious, most precarious? The quality of life of waste pickers in the Karoo
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Date
2021
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Abstract
Towns in the Karoo region currently offer few income-generating opportunities, resulting in people seeking
informal waste-picking opportunities on the streets and landfills. This article aims to investigate the level of
precariousness of waste pickers in the context of the Karoo towns in comparison with the rest of South Africa
using Sen’s capability approach. A cross-sectional research design was used, interviewing 75 informal landfill
waste pickers and 23 street waste pickers in nine Karoo towns. The results indicated that, in some respects, the
situation of the Karoo waste pickers is more precarious than those in other areas of South Africa.
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Keywords
Quality of life, Waste reclaimer, Waste picker, Karoo, Amartya Sen, Capability approach
Citation
Schenck, R., Viljoen, K., & Blaauw, D. (2021). Precarious, more precarious, most precarious? the quality of life of waste pickers in the karoo. Social Work (South Africa), 57(3), 302-319. doi:10.15270/57-3-952