We are engaging a collection place where we erected a water spout for cleaning waste plastics. The place is also comprised of a bath area, a spacious area for resting and two weigh scales. Waste pickers are already aroused of the existence of the collection and cleaning facility. waste scavengers utilizing the collection centre first undergo registration at their first visit, the name of the waste plastic collector, education background, health problems, previous income and savings status, housing, and thoughts about the project are always recorded. The purpose of the opening registration is to assess the condition and state of daily life of participants. Assessments explore the educational background, families, health status, income and savings status, housing, and commitment and interest the participant has for the project. A thorough health routine check is also done individually by interviewing the participant and keeping records of subsequent health checks, asking questions on feelings, conditions of immunity, allergic conditions, digestion problems and any other complaints an individual participant has. this will help us to eventually make final health checks and assessments to ascertain the impact the project has made to the individual waste pickers. There has been an increase in the health of participants however. with some support from a danish partner in a local company, waste pickers received nutritional support items and nutrition education. This made them stabilized in their minds after receiving bodily and emotional nourishment. Initially, majority of participants appeared stressed, as always with waste scavengers, many of the Alliance members’ behaviors were strange, for example becoming angry suddenly and without any reason but many have changed, but only among participants in the project. The biggest percentage of members are proud and appear happy with good appetite and their skin and faces appear normal again. The pride they expose, the tolerate minds; all indicate a positive impact of the project. Previously weak and malnourished waste pickers have gained weight and feel strong and are in an enjoyable working order. To ascertain the above outcomes, we undertook a study on 86 waste pickers, through a questionnaire asking among other questions, how they felt; weak or strong, or slightly weak; their appetite and how often they had acquired infections in a two months period.

Although we have not yet broadly succeeded in bypassing the middlemen, the findings indicate that the model would benefit more people if it turns into a bigger cooperative. In this case we doubling our efforts to look for support and are using the 1% Club ’s co-creation developed Plan to attract donors.

This website building task has been realized, we thank you very much, each of you who has shown interest to assist us. thank you for that spirit. the website is already up and running. thank you everybody, thank you!!

would you like to understand in-depth about Fair trade,its relevancy and how is fights slavery - please log on to http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/what_is_fairtrade/fairtrade_foundation.aspx

Check out Struggles and Victories of waste pickers on the frontline.
November-December 2012


http://globalrec.org/2012/12/31/struggles-and-victories-waste-pickers-on-the-frontline-nov-dec2012/

PROJECT UPDATES

Whereas plastic wastes are available everywhere countrywide, and can be collected at no cost, the people who pick recyclable wastes have always earned an extreme low income payment, the plastic wastes are sold off at an exploitative price to middlemen, who in turn resell to the profitable markets abroad and other recycling industries. Locally, there is a huge demand for plastic wastes although prices appear to be low. One huge buyer is currently dominating the purchases of PET for export to china, but we aren’t sure of the prices in china. However, the indication that he inserts a lot of demand to take all the plastic wastes indicates of some good prices abroad. Of recent, two Indians have set up buying centers near the landfill but also buy exploitatively from the waste scavengers. The “fair trade and safe workplace” project aims to come up with a business model that would benefit thousands of the poor population exposed to health hazards. Waste scavengers collect and sell plastic at an exploitative price which costs them their lives. As many as 15 people are reported dead each year of those scavengers dwelling at the landfill. With the money donated at the 1% CLUB website we will continue to arrange plastic waste collection business into a social minded entity with management of the health of waste scavengers and fare trade opportunities to give power to this grassroots economic opportunity. Long before all the measures to contain greenhouse gas emissions, the waste pickers were there, as silent friends of the earth. They are currently fighting to be recognized as entrepreneurs earning livelihoods from picking recyclable wastes and thereby reducing the demand for natural resources. Huge climate and environmental benefits are realized as recycling reduces emissions in the mining and manufacturing sectors by replacing virgin materials used in manufacturing. Much less energy is required to manufacture goods from recycled materials, such as glass, metals and plastic, than from virgin materials. Recycling paper and wood means less demand for wood and less deforestation. Waste pickers have been taken into the environmental knowledge and below is a table showing the different types of plastic that has formed basis of our education to waste pickers.
Acronym - Full name and uses
PET - Polyethylene terephthalate
Fizzy drink bottles and frozen ready meal packages
HDPE - High-density Polyethylene – Milk and washing-up liquid bottles
PVC - Polyvinyl chloride – Food trays, cling film, bottles for squash, mineral water and shampoo
LDPE - Low density polyethylene – Carrier bags and bin liners
PP - Polypropylene – Margarine tubs, microwave-able meal trays
PS - Polystyrene – Yoghurt pots, foam meat or fish trays, hamburger boxes and egg cartons, vending cups, plastic cutlery, protective packaging for electronic goods and toys
Other - Any other plastics that do not fall into any of the above categories. For example melamine, often used in plastic plates and cups


With the money donated by 1% CLUB members, we will continue to engage a collection place where we erected a water spout for cleaning waste plastics. The place also comprises of a bath area, a spacious area for resting and two weigh scales. Waste pickers always utilize the collection and cleaning facility. Utilizing the collection centre, waste scavengers first undergo registration at their first visit, the name of the waste plastic collector, education background, health problems, previous income and savings status, housing, and thoughts about the project are always recorded. The purpose of the opening registration is to assess the condition and state of daily life of participants. Assessments explore the educational background, families, health status, income and savings status, housing, and commitment and interest the participant has for the project. A thorough health routine check is done individually by interviewing the participants and keeping records of subsequent health checks, asking questions on feelings, conditions of immunity, allergic conditions, digestion problems and any other complaints an individual participant had. We will afterwards carry on final health checks and assessments to ascertain the impact the project has made to the individual waste pickers.

Although we have not yet broadly succeeded in bypassing the middlemen, the findings indicate that the model would benefit more people if it turns into a bigger cooperative. In this case we doubled our efforts and were taken through the 1% Club’s creative solutions through the 1% creative team that provided basis of finding a solution.
So finally a strategy was developed as a result of a two hours co-creation skype meeting with a dozen of experts that were in Netherlands. We are trying hard under extremely limited resources to engage the solutions.

Press Release by
Hlanganani MaAfrika Waste Picker Cooperative
South African Waste Pickers Association

Waste Picker (50) Drowns in Msunduzi River
Date: 20-11-2012

After heavy rains the previous night, waste picker Bongekile Hilda Ntshangase (50) drowned in the Msunduzi River on her way back to the New England Road landfill site after her and her husband had been to sell recyclable waste at the Central Waste depot on 23 September. Tomorrow, the Hlanganani MaAfrika Waste Picker Cooperative [1], members of the South African Waste Picker Association (SAWPA) [2], groundWork [3] and other waste pickers from the area, will attend her funeral.

Bongekile and her husband lived in the township of Swapo and worked as waste pickers picking recyclables off the landfill site, for over 15 years, to make a living. The difficult situation of poverty they – along with many other waste pickers – were forced to live in, meant they often had to cross the river either going to the depot from the landfill or vice versa if Central Waste trucks were not available to transport them in order to generate some income.

Despite having created a livelihood for herself, and having helped keep the environment clean through recycling and making more space on the landfill, Bongekile’s and her husband did not have enough money for her funeral and had to turn to the waste picking community to raise funds for her burial.

The ideal situation for waste pickers like Bongekile is to have waste recycling companies come to a formal Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) [4] on the New England Road landfill site where they could sell their recyclables, rather than them having to cart them across town. If the proposed MRF was in operation, their income would be improved and the life of Bongekile and that of Nqobile Maphumulo [5] would not have been lost.

Speaking on behalf of SAWPA on the issue of cooperatives and protecting waste pickers from private business interests, Chairperson Simon Mbata, urged waste pickers to either join a cooperative or form their own in their area:

“SAWPA is working at the local level to create a system where its cooperatives bypass middlemen business and sell directly to the bigger companies. In this way they would be protected from a cut in the money they take home in the end. It is wrong that Bongekile did not have enough money to be buried even though she had worked hard as a waste picker for so long”.

Bongekile was well-known in the waste picking community in Pietermaritzburg. Nonhlanhla Mhlope, committee member of both SAWPA and the cooperative in Pietermaritzburg, expressed the same sentiments:

“It is high time for us now as waste pickers to unite and fight against the exploitation by middlemen who are interested in making money from our labour but not looking after us”.

groundWork and SAWPA are saddened by Bongekile’s death and sends her family sincerest condolences.