Turning Livelihoods to Rubbish? Policy Brief

In the context of high unemployment and growing volumes of waste volumes, more and more people and institutions are looking to waste management as a way to create jobs and improve the environment. This is quite a shift from how waste is typically thought about – dirty, unsafe, and out of sight/out of mind. Political actors in South Africa are encouraging the transformation of waste management into a sector that can provide employment, employment opportunities, and income. But although many types of waste are valuable, turning waste management into a profitable industry is difficult. Most waste doesn’t actually have economic value, and profit margins from recycling are tight. Additionally they are subject to changing global prices and fluctuations.