Durban - A Pietermaritzburg waste picker says her life has been tough since the Msunduzi Municipality blocked access to the New England landfill site in August this year.
Nonhlanhla Mhlophe, 47, a single mother who has been earning a living as a waste picker since 2005 to support herself, her three children and four grandchildren, said she used to go to the landfill to look for scrap metal that she would sell to scrap metal dealerships, earning up to R2 000 per week.
She said the money enabled her to meet day-to-day household expenses. However, a decision by the municipality to block access to waste pickers on August 24 this year, because of concerns over criminal elements on the site, has had a devastating impact on waste pickers in Pietermaritzburg and the surrounding areas.
Mhlophe was one of hundreds of waste pickers who marched to the municipal offices on Thursday demanding that they be granted access to the landfill site.
“Life has been tough for me, I am behind on my regular payments on policies, children have questions on what they will get for Christmas and unfortunately there is no answer on my plight,” she told The Mercury on Thursday.
She is one of more than 500 waste pickers who have been affected by the municipality’s stance.
“It has been three months now without any income and the effects are just unbearable for me and my colleagues. Everyone knows how tough the situation is out there when searching for work. One was making an honest living and is now being reduced to a life of begging,” Mhlophe said.
She said they were hoping that mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla, who accepted their memorandum, would hear their plea.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the municipality said it had resolved to restrict entrance to the New England Road landfill site following incidents of crime that occurred there.
The mayor indicated that the city would continue to act against those unlawfully found at the landfill site.
“The city is aware that residents go to the landfill site to recycle in order to be able to put food on the table. That does not take away the dangers of being at the landfill site unauthorised; the city risked losing the landfill site licence if it failed to accordingly address challenges facing the New England Road landfill site,” said Thebolla.
The mayor committed to further engagements in a bid to find common ground between the municipality and waste pickers.
Advocacy group groundWork said the municipality’s move to restrict access to the landfill site for waste pickers amounted to taking food from the table for many families.
Musa Chamane of groundWork said waste pickers played an important role in the city’s recycling value chain.