After getting retrenched he knew that
if he did nothing, his family would
starve. And so he enlisted the help of
a friend who was already doing this
kind of work. He says he battled with
the decision, seeing as it’s not exactly
an easy job to do. And the payment
is also dismal. “It is by no means for
any man,only a few hardworking and
dedicated men are able to keep at it.”
James explained to me that collecting
waste requires traversing long distances
in the sun and the chill to the various
depots, depending on which side of
town he is collecting from.“I wake up
very early so I can walk to the different
53
areas in Soweto as well as Roodeport.
We walk up to 12 kilometers in a day to
get some trash and take it to the Florida
depot. It is a weekday job where one
makes as little as R70 to R130 per day
depending on how many kilos or bags
you take to the depot”.
" W E WA L K U P TO
1 2 K ' S I N A D AY T O
GET SOME TRASH."
IMBO/ ISSUE 32/ '14