Elderly women in Mthatha and surrounding towns in the Eastern Cape have resorted to recycling to make ends meet. Women, together with their children, criss-cross their respective villages collecting plastic bottles, tin cans and scrap metals.
The waste material is then transported to Durban in KwaZulu Natal. However, finding transport is a huge problem. They spend days and nights hitchhiking next to the N2. They also cannot leave their wares.
One of the elderly women from Makwayini Village in Elliotdale, Novusile Duva, says the conditions they live and work under are extremely challenging.
“It is such a hassle to even get these scraps of metal here on the N2 from our villages, we hire transport that is expensive on its own, look now, it charged R400.00. I really do not know what am I going to do if I did not make enough money to pay the transport from my village, since the money you get from the scrap yard depends on how heavy is your stuff, sometimes we come back home with only R300.00 and sometimes with R400.00 and end up being unable to pay the transport and we get helped by other women to return back home”.
It is a dangerous venture for the women, especially during the time they spend next to the national road. A resident of Mkhathazo, Nowebile Maphuthume, says they worry about their safety. She is asking the government to intervene as some women have given up on recycling because they fear for their safety.
“We sleep here, we are not safe, the boys would come here at night and make fun of us, they intimidate us and sometimes they would kick our stuff. We would kindly ask the government to support us in what we are doing and come up with a plan to bring a recycling company near us because we travel a long distance to Durban, we do not have a vehicle, we do not have money and we only hitchhike to go there”.
Recycling is not a get rich quick scheme. The money earned by the women provides clothing and pays school fees for their children. The King Sabatha Dalindyebo (KSD) Municipality says it encourages women to enter into business. The municipality’s spokesperson, Sonwabo Mampoza, says there are programmes in place to assist women in small business.
“The municipality has set aside special programmes especially for women in business, especially in recycling, agriculture and so on, but however at this point in time there are no proper arrangements to ensure that we can transport these people from here to where they sell their steel”.”
The Eastern Cape Chamber of Business is appealing to the government to facilitate an amicable solution in this matter. Chamber president, Vuyisile Ntlabathi, says recycling factories based in Durban must open branches closer to their suppliers.
“The government needs to help those people because that’s empowerment, this is what we need to do those people want to work hence they are risking their lives. There are factories here which unfortunately are being vandalised as we speak, if we can take these things to that factory and we pay those ladies and the stuff is taken to Durban, now they get better returns and nobody is risking his or her life”.”
The Eastern Cape Chamber of Business also says the high crime levels in the KSD municipality are because of the lack of business opportunities in the area. The chamber also wants to see more support from government structures to encourage business development
