INTEGRATING THE INFORMAL SECTOR INTO THE SOUTH AFRICAN WASTE AND RECYCLING ECONOMY IN THE CONTEXT OF EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY

This briefing note examines the role of the informal waste sector in South Africa's recycling economy and the potential impacts of mandatory Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). It highlights the significant economic value provided by informal waste pickers in diverting materials from landfills and proposes four integration scenarios to protect livelihoods while increasing recycling rates.

• Informal waste pickers are primary drivers of recycling in South Africa, recovering an estimated 80-90% by weight of paper and packaging waste. Between 60,000 and 90,000 pickers earn their livelihoods from this activity, collecting approximately 16-24 tonnes per picker annually.
• The informal sector provides substantial financial savings to South African municipalities by diverting waste from landfills. In 2014, this diversion saved municipalities between R309.2 million (at a landfill airspace value of R211 per tonne) and R748.8 million (at a value of R511 per tonne).
• The implementation of mandatory Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for paper, packaging, waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), and lighting poses a risk to informal waste pickers. Traditional EPR models may create competition between formal and informal sectors, potentially marginalising pickers and compromising their livelihoods.
• Efforts to formalise waste pickers into co-operatives and SMEs have shown poor sustainability in South Africa. Research indicates a failure rate of approximately 91.8% for waste and recycling co-operatives, often due to limited market access, weak capability, and lack of infrastructure.
• Four potential scenarios for integrating the informal sector into the waste economy were identified: (i) maintaining the status quo of a marginalised, unregulated community; (ii) integrating pickers into programmes with increased monitoring and industry support; (iii) driving formalisation through co-operatives and SMEs; and (iv) absorbing the informal sector as employees within the formal waste sector.
• There is a significant gap in productivity between South African waste pickers and those in other cities. While South African pickers collect 16-24 tonnes per annum, workers in Cairo, Egypt, and Lima, Peru, collect 54 and 48 tonnes per annum, respectively.

APA

L., G., W., S., & R., P. (2016). INTEGRATING THE INFORMAL SECTOR INTO THE SOUTH AFRICAN WASTE AND RECYCLING ECONOMY IN THE CONTEXT OF EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY. GreenCape. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Policy-Brief-Informal-Sector-CSIR-final-Mar-2016-3.pdf

Chicago

L., Godfrey,, Strydom, W., and Phukubye, R. INTEGRATING THE INFORMAL SECTOR INTO THE SOUTH AFRICAN WASTE AND RECYCLING ECONOMY IN THE CONTEXT OF EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY. GreenCape, 2016. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Policy-Brief-Informal-Sector-CSIR-final-Mar-2016-3.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=L. |first1=Godfrey, |last2=W. |first2=Strydom, |last3=R. |first3=Phukubye, |title=INTEGRATING THE INFORMAL SECTOR INTO THE SOUTH AFRICAN WASTE AND RECYCLING ECONOMY IN THE CONTEXT OF EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY |publisher=GreenCape |date=February 2016 |url=https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Policy-Brief-Informal-Sector-CSIR-final-Mar-2016-3.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{l2016integrating, author = {L., Godfrey, and W., Strydom, and R., Phukubye,}, title = {{INTEGRATING THE INFORMAL SECTOR INTO THE SOUTH AFRICAN WASTE AND RECYCLING ECONOMY IN THE CONTEXT OF EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2016}, month = feb, url = {https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Policy-Brief-Informal-Sector-CSIR-final-Mar-2016-3.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }