Every Thursday morning for the past six years, Stella Nokuvela Manqwala wakes up early and prepares herself to go walk the streets of Amalinda, collecting food, scrap materials and two-litre plastic bottles.
This she gathers from garbage bags placed out for collection by residents, to ensure her and her family’s survival.
Manqwala’s day usually starts as early as 6.30am because she is not the only one who will be out scavenging through the garbage, she has plenty of competition, and it all has to be done before the municipal refuse removal trucks arrive.
As Manqwala goes about her business, many people driving by hoot and wave, those on foot stop to talk, and it is evident that she is a common sight in the streets of Amalinda.
The 43-year-old explains to the Daily Dispatch how she started ukuqhabhuza (a name used to describe going through rubbish).
As an unemployed mother of two, and a grandmother, she says she was introduced to “ukugqabhuza” by her eldest son.
“I used to see my eldest son return home with many items that were in a condition that we could use. Sometimes he would even bring home food, however, I was always embarrassed by it and I never thought I would do it until I had no choice but to do it to put food on the table,” she says.
The Dispatch team met up with Manqwala at the corner of Goodall Street in Amalinda, which is where her day starts.
She explains that building a relationship with the residents is important so that they trust her in their street.
She says it is a waste picker’s responsibility to make sure they leave the rubbish bags the way they find them, after having rummaged through them.
“I used to even sweep in this street but they stole my broom.
“These people are nice to me, the least I can do is to keep their street clean,” she says.
Looking through the piles of rubbish left out for the municipal waste trucks, she quickly identifies what she can and cannot use, saying she is amazed at the consideration people have for people like her.
“I sometimes find food tightly wrapped in a foil, some even stop their car to tell you what is in their garbage bags,” she says.
By 10am, Manqwala has gathered a black plastic bag full of two-litre bottles, a few items of clothing, a half-loaf of bread, and a few unfinished cosmetic products.
She has also run out of time because by now the municipal trucks are on the street collecting the garbage.
Her day is far from over however, as she still needs to sell the two-litre bottles she has collected, which she does at a “warehouse” in Parkside.
To reach the venue, however, she will have to walk about 3km.
At the “warehouse”, is Deco Kasin, who buys the two-litre bottles for 50 cents each.
Kasin cleans the bottles, sterilises them and resells them to nearby dairies, where they are reused for packaging both fresh and sour milk.
“On an average day I can buy about 1000 bottles. Mondays, I usually buy more because people have parties over the weekend,” says Kasin.
Outside this venue, Manqwala’s colleagues line up, all with bags full of bottles, many singing to pass the time as they wait their turn.
One of those in the queue is Phakama “Pinky ” Mbulawa, who collected 500 bottles, the highest number for the day.
Mbulawa focuses her search for two-litre bottles on Quigney and Southernwood.
“The reason I have so many bottles is because I wake up early, and I only collect bottles,” she said.
At 1pm, Manqwala then walks back to Amalinda to position herself behind an Eastern Cape liquor store, where she joins others selling the clothing they picked from the garbage bags.
“Now this is my office,” she says jokingly, as she introduces the Dispatch to those gathered there.
At the close of business she gathers up what is left over, (some recovered food, the cosmetics and some unsold clothing), and the money she made from the bottles, and makes her way home to Scenery Park.
Waste management company Aurecon’s technical director Nick Mannie said: “The people you see going through your garbage bags may very well be a part of the solution to depleting natural resources, to the environmental impact of waste and the diminishing capacity of landfills which have prompted the need for reduced waste generation.”
“Now, more than ever, recycling is an essential part of our lives, however the conditions that these people on the streets work under do pose serious dangers,” says Mannie.
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This she gathers from garbage bags placed out for collection by residents, to ensure her and her family’s survival.
Manqwala’s day usually starts as early as 6.30am because she is not the only one who will be out scavenging through the garbage, she has plenty of competition, and it all has to be done before the municipal refuse removal trucks arrive.
As Manqwala goes about her business, many people driving by hoot and wave, those on foot stop to talk, and it is evident that she is a common sight in the streets of Amalinda.
The 43-year-old explains to the Daily Dispatch how she started ukuqhabhuza (a name used to describe going through rubbish).
As an unemployed mother of two, and a grandmother, she says she was introduced to “ukugqabhuza” by her eldest son.
“I used to see my eldest son return home with many items that were in a condition that we could use. Sometimes he would even bring home food, however, I was always embarrassed by it and I never thought I would do it until I had no choice but to do it to put food on the table,” she says.
The Dispatch team met up with Manqwala at the corner of Goodall Street in Amalinda, which is where her day starts.
She explains that building a relationship with the residents is important so that they trust her in their street.
She says it is a waste picker’s responsibility to make sure they leave the rubbish bags the way they find them, after having rummaged through them.
“I used to even sweep in this street but they stole my broom.
“These people are nice to me, the least I can do is to keep their street clean,” she says.
Looking through the piles of rubbish left out for the municipal waste trucks, she quickly identifies what she can and cannot use, saying she is amazed at the consideration people have for people like her.
“I sometimes find food tightly wrapped in a foil, some even stop their car to tell you what is in their garbage bags,” she says.
By 10am, Manqwala has gathered a black plastic bag full of two-litre bottles, a few items of clothing, a half-loaf of bread, and a few unfinished cosmetic products.
She has also run out of time because by now the municipal trucks are on the street collecting the garbage.
Her day is far from over however, as she still needs to sell the two-litre bottles she has collected, which she does at a “warehouse” in Parkside.
To reach the venue, however, she will have to walk about 3km.
At the “warehouse”, is Deco Kasin, who buys the two-litre bottles for 50 cents each.
Kasin cleans the bottles, sterilises them and resells them to nearby dairies, where they are reused for packaging both fresh and sour milk.
“On an average day I can buy about 1000 bottles. Mondays, I usually buy more because people have parties over the weekend,” says Kasin.
Outside this venue, Manqwala’s colleagues line up, all with bags full of bottles, many singing to pass the time as they wait their turn.
One of those in the queue is Phakama “Pinky ” Mbulawa, who collected 500 bottles, the highest number for the day.
Mbulawa focuses her search for two-litre bottles on Quigney and Southernwood.
“The reason I have so many bottles is because I wake up early, and I only collect bottles,” she said.
At 1pm, Manqwala then walks back to Amalinda to position herself behind an Eastern Cape liquor store, where she joins others selling the clothing they picked from the garbage bags.
“Now this is my office,” she says jokingly, as she introduces the Dispatch to those gathered there.
At the close of business she gathers up what is left over, (some recovered food, the cosmetics and some unsold clothing), and the money she made from the bottles, and makes her way home to Scenery Park.
Waste management company Aurecon’s technical director Nick Mannie said: “The people you see going through your garbage bags may very well be a part of the solution to depleting natural resources, to the environmental impact of waste and the diminishing capacity of landfills which have prompted the need for reduced waste generation.”
“Now, more than ever, recycling is an essential part of our lives, however the conditions that these people on the streets work under do pose serious dangers,” says Mannie.
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