AFRICANUS Vol 30 No 2 ISSN 0304-615X - University of South Africa

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will have to be reviewed and the agents will have to become more accessible to collectors before informal collectors will recognise the merit of recovering glass. For informal collectors, plastic recycling is also fraught with logistical difficulties, making it of little value as a potential source of income. Plastic is bulky and lightweight and large volumes need to be sold to make it worthwhile. In addition, formal plastic collectors and recyclers generally require certain types of plastic only, which, for the average person, are not easily distinguishable. The value associated with the various plastic types is also dependent on the volumes of used plastic available, often resulting in a market surplus. For collectors, earning a sustainable income from collecting these commodities is therefore not viable at present. Market prices need to be stabilised and agents appointed who will guarantee a permanent market. Other solutions There is no doubt that informal collectors are responsible for diverting several thousand tonnes of cardboard and paper from the waste stream, and with the appropriate infrastructure, other recyclables could be included. Because of the current and predicted continued high levels of unemployment, the number of individuals seeking an income will increase further, with many being absorbed into the informal sector. The incidence of informal collectors in the city and residential areas is therefore likely to increase. Local councils need to take cognisance of the environmental and economic impact of the activities of these individuals, which are largely twofold: reduced spending on labour for street litter control, thereby enhancing the overall appearance of the city, and reducing the impact on landfills. Many collectors have requested formal recognition, which they feel would facilitate their work. Local authorities and recycling industries should therefore take the initiative to support collectors (eg by providing trolleys and identifiable clothing); to upgrade the infrastructure for can, glass and even plastic recycling; to educate collectors in this regard; and to provide additional, more accessible buyback centres. It may even be possible to incorporate informal collectors into the wastemanagement systems operating in residential and commercial areas. To this end, householders and factories could separate recyclables for collectors, which would include consumable food items, upon which many rely for subsistence. Based on the preliminary results of a survey of Durban businesses, considerable informal recycling already occurs in the industrial sector (Karen 24
Thomas, DSW, personal communication). If these industry±informal collector associations could be recognised, encouraged and even legitimised, there would be environmental, social and economic benefits for all parties. FINAL COMMENTS Often, with no other source of income, informal collectors (and their dependants) rely on both domestic and commercial ``waste'' for survival. Since much of this waste is reusable or recyclable, and since it is unlikely that the economy will recover sufficiently to improve the quality of life for these individuals and their families, collectors should be incorporated into the waste management of the city. Local councils should recognise the potential social and environmental implications of facilitating informal collection. There are those who believe that one of the most revealing environmental audits of a city is how efficiently its inhabitants and commercial sector make use of the city's resources, and how, in what form and on what scale the wastes are generated, reused, recycled, treated or disposed (Hardoy et al 1995: 132). Durban faces problems with a growing informal sector that needs to be accommodated and landfills that are reaching capacity. The challenge which faces local councils is therefore to manage these problems effectively, concurrently and sustainably. BIBLIOGRAPHY Anon 1998. The building has begun! Government's report `98 to the nation. Pretoria: Government Communication and Information System. Anon 1999. Wastepaper recycling opens up opportunities for small business. Resource 1(1):35. Central Statistical Services (CSS) 1998. Employment and unemployment in South Africa: October Household Survey 1994±1997. Pretoria: Central Statistical Services. (Statistical Release PO317.10.) Durban Solid Waste (DSW) 1998. Report on Durban solid waste: Waste Minimisation Office activities, 15 December 1998. Godsell, B & Buys, J 1992. Growth and poverty: towards some shared goals, in Wealth or poverty? Critical choices for South Africa, edited by R Schire. Cape Town: Oxford University Press:635±656. Hardoy, J E, Mitlin, D & Satterthwaite, D 1995. Environmental problems in Third World cities. London: Earthscan. Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) 1999a. Media release: Unemployed eager to take any job: HSRC study. http://www.hsrc.ac.za Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) 1999b. Media release: Employment forecasts till 2003: HSRC study. http://www.hsrc.ac.za 25
Page 1 and 2: AFRICANUS Vol 30 No 2 ISSN 0304-615
Page 3: Journal of Development Administrati
Page 6 and 7: Book Reviews Can the poor influence
Page 8 and 9: peared internationally. The purpose
Page 10 and 11: Informal collection: a matter of su
Page 12 and 13: Thus, despite the Government's Reco
Page 14 and 15: age (table 1). The youngest collect
Page 16 and 17: Collectors estimated that they earn
Page 18 and 19: their head. Three women sold their
Page 20 and 21: Figure 3 Number of collectors recov
Page 22 and 23: would facilitate their work. Collec
Page 24 and 25: Figure 5 The effect of a recent car
Page 28 and 29: Huntley, B, Siegried, R & Sunter, C
Page 30 and 31: 1993 ± as did the 1993 and 1996 co
Page 32 and 33: local government are better placed
Page 34 and 35: 4 INSTITUTIONAL OPTIONS FOR THE STR
Page 36 and 37: perienced to this form of establish
Page 38 and 39: ernment, the departmental approach
Page 40 and 41: Indicators for indigenous financial
Page 42 and 43: dividing them into three interrelat
Page 44 and 45: access to credit on a group liabili
Page 46 and 47: is no exception. Since the research
Page 48 and 49: development and the implementation
Page 50 and 51: Prospects for the sustainability of
Page 52 and 53: Gender relations: a missing link in
Page 54 and 55: groups? The underlying situation, a
Page 56 and 57: During this period, women and gende
Page 58 and 59: growth. WID started from the basic
Page 60 and 61: ather than beneficiaries, and that
Page 62 and 63: questioning the advisability and de
Page 64 and 65: gender differences are overlooked i
Page 66 and 67: On the relationship between partici
Page 68 and 69: participatory development and resea
Page 70 and 71: stakeholders. These coalitions were
Page 72 and 73: seems limited at present, especiall
Page 74 and 75: pared to the rest of the world (Har
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to attaining empowerment are still
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Revenue and ownership Ð the impact
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outcome in a developing economy wit
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3 A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE SOUTH AFR
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increase in investment in education
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4.2 Private investor returns and pu
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Yet for government revenue reasons
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lishing a mechanism for a reasonabl
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internationally and increase the pr
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ulation. The drawback is that firms
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would also increase. In South Afric
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Book reviews Can the poor influence
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PPAs could have been elaborated on
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lescence of new perspectives in Fer
Page 105:
CHECKLIST FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO AFRI
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AFRICANUS Vol 30 No 2 ISSN 0304-615X - University of South Africa

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