SOUTH AFRICA MAINSTREAMING THE INFORMAL WASTE SECTOR TOWARDS AN INCLUSIVE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN AFRICAN CITIES

The report examines the role of informal waste reclaimers in African cities, highlighting their significant contribution to recycling and waste diversion despite facing severe health risks, social marginalization, and low pay. It argues that the current linear 'take-make-waste' model is unsustainable and that an 'inclusive circular economy' must integrate these vulnerable workers into formal policy and value chains. The document provides a comparative analysis of the informal waste sector in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda, detailing specific policy gaps and opportunities for reclaimer integration and formalization.

• African cities face a waste crisis driven by a linear economic model, with over 90% of the 180 million tonnes of municipal solid waste generated in Africa in 2017 being inadequately managed.
• Informal reclaimers provide a critical subsidy to formal waste systems by diverting materials from landfills and reducing environmental leakage, yet they are often excluded from formal policy and mandates.
• Reclaimers face severe occupational health hazards and social risks, including exposure to toxic fumes, respiratory ailments, and discrimination, often working without basic personal protective equipment.
• Income for reclaimers is low and volatile, heavily influenced by global commodity prices; for example, a drop in oil prices can make virgin plastic cheaper than recycled plastic, directly impacting reclaimer livelihoods.
• The report identifies a significant lack of data on the informal waste sector, though it estimates over 90,000 reclaimers in South Africa and between 25,000 and 30,000 in Lagos, Nigeria.
• South Africa is highlighted as a leader in policy frameworks for reclaimer integration, specifically through the 2020 Waste Picker Integration Guideline and EPR regulations that mandate service fee payments to registered reclaimers.
• In other focus countries, integration is less advanced: Ghana's informal sector is often viewed as a nuisance, and Uganda lacks a formal policy framework to support reclaimer integration.
• The report argues that for a truly inclusive circular economy, reclaimers should be involved in 'upstream' activities, such as product design, because of their practical knowledge of what materials can actually be recycled locally.
• Organizing into networks, such as the African Reclaimers Organisation (ARO) or the South African Waste Pickers Association (SAWPA), allows reclaimers to bypass middlemen and negotiate better rates with larger recyclers.

APA

Pholoto, L., & Chitaka, T. (2022). SOUTH AFRICA MAINSTREAMING THE INFORMAL WASTE SECTOR TOWARDS AN INCLUSIVE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN AFRICAN CITIES. WWF South Africa. https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_mainstreaming_the_informal_waste_sector_2022.pdf

Chicago

Pholoto, Lethabo, and Takunda Chitaka. SOUTH AFRICA MAINSTREAMING THE INFORMAL WASTE SECTOR TOWARDS AN INCLUSIVE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN AFRICAN CITIES. WWF South Africa, 2022. https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_mainstreaming_the_informal_waste_sector_2022.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Pholoto |first1=Lethabo |last2=Chitaka |first2=Takunda |title=SOUTH AFRICA MAINSTREAMING THE INFORMAL WASTE SECTOR TOWARDS AN INCLUSIVE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN AFRICAN CITIES |publisher=WWF South Africa |date=2022 |url=https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_mainstreaming_the_informal_waste_sector_2022.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{pholoto2022south, author = {Pholoto, Lethabo and Chitaka, Takunda}, title = {{SOUTH AFRICA MAINSTREAMING THE INFORMAL WASTE SECTOR TOWARDS AN INCLUSIVE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN AFRICAN CITIES}}, institution = {WWF South Africa}, year = {2022}, url = {https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_mainstreaming_the_informal_waste_sector_2022.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }