The African Reclaimers Organisation decorated some of its members’ collection bags to bring some colour and joy to their daily commute.
Johannesburg, South Africa (29 September 2021) – The African Reclaimers Organisation was founded to help informal waste pickers with representation. Reclaimers wish to be included in the waste management process in South Africa.
With better representation, reclaimers can hopefully be recognised as stakeholders in the waste management system.
The organisation, along with the Brixton Community Forum and the Bordeaux Residents Association, recently, successfully opposed the implementation of an additional R50 fee by the City of Johannesburg on residents with homes that are valued above R350,000.
The fee was said to go towards extending the Pikitup separation at source programme (S@S) that has been piloted by the City in several Johannesburg suburbs. It would mean that people imposed with the fee would no longer leave their recycling for the city’s informal recyclers, pushing many who rely on these items out of areas that provide the bulk of their incomes.
The organisation hopes to continue supporting and uplifting the reclaimers. They hosted a bag makeover day and invited artists to decorate each bag differently. The reclaimers loved their custom artworks.
You can find out more about the work being done by the organisation via the Facebook page here.