By Selloane Ntshonyane
- Zodwa Nkabinda collects cardboard and other waste most weekdays and takes it to a buy-back centre at Mall of Thembisa to earn money.
- The Packa-Ching centre paid out more than R112,000 to local waste collectors in the past year and kept 54,000kg of waste out of landfill.
Zodwa Nkabinde did not finish school. When she went looking for work, that followed her everywhere.
In November 2021, after many years of waiting for a job that was not coming and started collecting recyclable waste instead. She is a mother of four in Thembisa. Recycling is how she keeps them fed.
Most weekdays she goes out collecting, bringing back whatever she can find. Cardboard boxes are her most common find because they are easy to come across. When she has enough, she takes it all to the Packa-Ching buy-back centre at the Mall of Thembisa and gets paid on the spot.
What she earns changes every time. On a good day she walks away with R350. On a slower day it can be as little as R200. It depends entirely on what she brings in.
“When I get the money that I have earned, I buy bread, groceries and give my children money to eat at school,” Nkabinde said.
She does not pretend the work is easy.
“Recycling is not a simple thing. It is hard, but it is a way to help you and your family survive,” she said.
The buy-back centre where Nkabinde sells her collections is owned by Thabiso Hlongwane. It was set up through a partnership between Shoprite, Polyco and Greener Pastures Recycling, and it took close to a year before the business broke even.
“The backing we received from Shoprite made the difference between surviving and shutting down,” Hlongwane said.
Support through the Youth Employment Services programme helped cover salary costs while the business found its feet. In the past year, the centre paid out more than R112,000 to local waste collectors and kept more than 54,000kg of waste out of landfill.
Hlongwane said children from the area also bring in recyclables and earn their own money.
“There are kids who come here with recyclables, and they make R150. The parents then don’t have to give them tuck shop money. It’s their money and they’ve earned it,” he said.
Pictured above: Zodwa Nkabinda with recyclable material she collects to support her four children in Thembisa.
Image source: Supplied
