Abstract:
As South African consumerism has risen, the waste being
generated has increased. Poor accessibility to recycling
infrastructures in communities has resulted in a high influx of
reusable waste at landfills. Waste disposal through landfills
is the primary form of disposal worldwide. According to the
World Bank (2018), South Africans produce 0.50-0.99 kg
of waste per capita per day. In 2017, the Department of
Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF), formerly the
Department of Environmental Affairs, reported that 75% of
this waste is disposed of in landfills across the country. This
has, to some degree, created a ‘gold rush’ to landfills as
underprivileged and unemployed men and women in urban
communities turn to waste recycling as a form of income
generation.
