Perspectives of role players on waste picker integration in the formal waste management sector

MSc (Environmental Management with Waste Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus

The informal waste sector is increasingly becoming a crucial part of the formal waste management sector. In recent years, the formal waste management sector around the globe have started discussions about transforming the role of waste pickers in the formal waste management sector. The subject of integrating waste pickers in the formal waste management sector has been recognized as a priority in many developing countries such as South Africa. Most municipalities in South Africa have started to integrate waste pickers in their waste management systems, however, there is no commonly agreed definition, and coherent approach to implement waste picker integration. Scholars argue that the term integration is a socially constructed concept which is not defined in policies. The lack of common understanding of what waste picker integration entail, has led to varied understandings and interpretations among role players in the formal waste management sector. In South Africa, the Department of Environment, Fisheries and Forestry (DEFF) published the Waste Picker Integration Guideline for South Africa in the year 2020, to guide role players in successfully integrating waste pickers in the formal waste management sector. This research study aimed to investigate the perspectives of different role players on the integration of waste pickers in the formal waste management sector. Subsequently, two research objectives were set: (1) to investigate the different views of role players on the integration of waste pickers in the formal waste sector; (2) to determine the perceived opportunities and challenges associated with integrating waste pickers in the formal waste management sector. In order to reach these objectives, this study followed a qualitative research approach by collecting data through semi-structured interviews. A structured questionnaire was employed which consisted of open and close-ended questions to a sample of 19 participants, who represented municipalities and buy-back centres (BBCs) in the Gauteng province. Participants were selected through employing the purposive and snowball methods. A thematic data analysis was implemented with responses grouped and divided into themes. The findings revealed that, role players understood and acknowledged the role of waste pickers in the recycling economy, and commonly defined the integration of waste pickers as the formal inclusion of waste pickers to the formal waste management sector. The registration of waste pickers in the institutions’ database and integrating waste pickers through cooperatives were quoted as the most common implemented approaches by role players at different institutions in the formal waste management sector. While the registration of waste pickers in the institutions database and organizing waste pickers into cooperatives are international best practice with evidence of success in Brazil and India, in Gauteng the success rate appears to be unpromising. It has been concluded that role players develop and implement waste picker integration approaches according to their own interpretations of what integration mean. A year later after the publication of the Waste Picker Integration Guideline of South Africa, role players in the Gauteng province did not follow the steps suggested in Section H of the guideline, as a result, there are still an inconsistent understanding of waste picker integration among different role players. This research study recommends that in order for municipalities to successfully integrate waste pickers in their waste management systems, the integration strategies should be included in the Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) of the municipalities to ensure budget allocation for the integration activities.

Masters