Abstract
Landfill and street waste pickers in South Africa are responsible for collecting substantial volumes of recyclable material, saving municipalities millions and contributing to a generally healthier and cleaner environment. Yet waste pickers continue to operate on the fringes of the economy and are exposed to many risks, particularly health risks which have a direct impact on the sustainability of their livelihoods. This article, using a mixed-methods approach, explores the health risks to which waste pickers working on nine different landfills in the country are exposed. The socio-ecological framework was used to analyse and present the results. A key finding was that waste picking, by its very nature, lends itself to innumerable health risks, but that these can be lessened through concerted and collaborative efforts on the part of landfill operators, local authorities and other stakeholders. Integrating the ‘self-employed’ waste pickers into the formal waste management system should be comprehensive in order to limit health risks. Waste pickers will never have a risk-free environment, but facilitative policies and supportive institutions can collaboratively help to mitigate these risks and create a more sustainable and dignified working environment towards sustaining their livelihoods.
Highlights
The United Nations Environmental Programme [1] refers to waste pickers as the ‘invisible environmentalists’ of the world
The results of the health risks experienced by the waste pickers are discussed in terms of the socio-ecological framework
If all formal structures were excluded, a significant proportion (59.9%) of the waste pickers slept in informal structures or in the veld or bushes or on the landfill, which means that they lacked access to proper infrastructure, water or ablution facilities
Summary
The United Nations Environmental Programme [1] refers to waste pickers as the ‘invisible environmentalists’ of the world. If waste pickers were formally employed at municipalities and waste companies, they would be protected by occupational, health and safety regulations Being informal workers, they have no such protection [18]. Informal waste pickers in developing countries do not enjoy formal occupational, health and safety protection. Despite the contribution of waste pickers to recycling efforts and waste diversion from landfills, the nature of their work presents many social, economic and health risks [1,2,8,14,16,19,20,21,22]. To understand the depth and complexity of these health risks, one needs to understand the context in which waste pickers work and live as well as the role that institutions and policies play. Levels 4 and 5 will be used to frame the policy and practical recommendations and further research that need to be conducted
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