An assessment of opportunities and barriers to recycling in two medium-sized towns of Makhanda and Port Alfred, South Africa

Abstract

Recycling is a sustainable waste management approach with environmental and socio-economic benefits yet recycling lags in the Global South. In South Africa, poor solid waste management is a vast urban sustainability concern, likely compounded by the projected increases in urbanization and consumption. South Africa recycles just 10% of its municipal waste, suggesting opportunities for optimizing recycling benefits are available. However, relative to big cities, empirical studies on the value of and barriers to recycling are still scarce in small to medium-sized towns. The main goal of this study was to assess the economic contribution of informal recycling activities (waste picking) and household level barriers to recycling in two medium-sized towns of Makhanda and Port Alfred, South Africa, using questionnaire surveys. The results showed that many waste pickers across both towns are in the industry due to financial need. Results indicated that low-educated and youthful newcomers dominated waste-picking activities, which indicates that the sector is expanding and is a considerable fallback for the unemployed and marginalized. The sector was instrumental in creating income opportunities, which assisted in reducing poverty levels, particularly poverty incidence and depth among waste pickers. Despite its socio-economic value, the sector faced significant issues, including the lack of storage, protective equipment, transport, buyers, and unjust trading policies with buy-back centres. On barriers, the study found a mismatch between attitudes and behaviour. Infrastructure tailored towards recycling is limited, which, when paired with limited recycling knowledge, significantly contributed to many people intending to recycle but failing to translate their intention into action. Overall, the findings indicated that recycling barriers across both towns are multi-layered and interlinked and require multifaceted interventions that address barriers holistically rather than independently. The findings of this study lay the groundwork for more work to be done in drafting and implementing recycling interventions in places outside of the bigger metropolises.