Aphiwe's grandmother taught her to flatten cardboard boxes when she was just a kid, selling the tiny "baby bundles" and saving the money in a piggy bank. Now 19, Aphiwe wears her grandmother's old work clothes and does the job alone — supporting her entire family. Waste pickers like Aphiwe recover 80% of South Africa's recycled plastic and paper, yet earn poverty wages in an industry that depends on them but won't protect them.

Shownotes

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Sources 

• Occupational Groups in the Informal Economy: Waste Pickers
• Infrastructure News - Stop Pretending Waste Pickers Don’t Exist
• Nature News - South Africa’s waste pickers deserve more recognition for environmental role 
• Newcastillian News - SA’s Recycling Lie: What Really Happens to Your Rubbish

Acknowledgements

This episode would not be possible without support from the UMI Fund. Special thanks to Hindenburg for supporting our projects across Africa with audio editing software.

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