Logic Chatikobo

Marjory Musamba is one of the many people in the low-income residential area of Hopley who are making a living from recycling plastic bottles.

Although the money is not enough to meet her living standards, she says it is better than nothing. Waking up as early as five o’clock in the morning, Marjory traverses for more than 5 kilometers in search of empty plastic-bottles, cans and other different types of plastic for resale.

“This is now source  my of income,” she says.

“Waking up as early as five in the morning I walk for more than 5 kilometers in search of empty plastic bottles, cans and other different plastics such as disposed Cascade, Maheu and water bottles for resale. When I get home, I sort them and group them according to type in preparation for sale to a local dealer,” Musamba says.

For many Hopley residents, others with their children forage for disposed plastics bottles on dumpsites and dustbins for resale.

“The plastics are weighed by the local buyers. Each type of plastic has its own price per kilogram, for instance Maheu empty plastic bottles cost 15c per kg and empty water bottles cost 7c per kg. The money we get from selling the plastics is little for us, but at least we are not to be begging. We  get the money to supplement but it is not enough,” says Musamba.

Seventy-four-year-old Mary Nyamhanza says the recycling of plastics, although the money they get from it is so little, it is sustaining their households.

Despite her age, Nyamhanza and other women also walks long distances in Hopley and surrounding areas to pick the disposed plastic bottles along road-sides, in litter-bins and on dumpsites.

“In the past the buyers would come with lorries to buy the empty plastic bottles, but now they no longer come. We now have to search for the buyers after sorting, selecting and grading the plastics. We use wheelbarrows or carts from our homes to the market place where the buyers are usually located,” Nyamhanza says.

Tinashe Tinofa is one of the buyers for the recycled plastic bottles in Hopley.

According to Tinofa, they act as the middleman that connects the plastic collectors and the larger market.

“We are the buyers for recycled plastic bottles here in Hopley, whereby we cut the transport costs for the collectors who sometimes have small quantities of recycled plastic bottles while the big companies that buy these plastics require huge quantities. When we buy the plastics, we sort them according to type for instance water bottles, Maheu, Cascade and cans. For the water bottles we buy them for 7c per kg, Cascade bottles 20c per kg and cans we buy them for 15c per kg. We collect and buy them here and then sell to larger companies that recycle plastic waste. Although it is not a lucrative business,  it is sustainable,” Tinofa says.

According to the Zimbabwe Environment Lawyers Association (ZELA), Zimbabwe has a poor plastic and solid waste management policy and needs to adapt to a comprehensive solid waste management plan that ensures safe, secure and sustainable solid waste management system that can transform Zimbabwe into a clean, healthy and environmentally friendly country.

Community based Clean Environment Advocate, Felistas Savanhu says the recycling of solid waste in Hopley ensures a clean environment while also creating employment for the people in the community.

“Effective waste management reduces health and environmental impacts. Due to rapid urbanization, there has been an increase in waste disposal  polluting the environment. In Harare, waste is poorly managed and this is having effects on the environment, but we applaud the efforts by the people who are recycling plastic waste as it cleans the environment at the same time creating a source of living for them,” says Savanhu.