Post date: Dec 26, 2013 1:24:33 PM
Increased unemployment in South Africa has forced many jobseekers to find alternative ways of earning a living. A number of youth are now getting into the recycling business, where they collect used plastics and papers for sale.
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA (RECENT) (REUTERS) - Retlaremang Koose's day usually starts at 5 o'clock every morning and sees him moving around various neighbourhoods in Johannesburg, with his trolley in tow.
Koose collects used plastics and paper for recycling and spends the better part of his day looking through people's trash.He has been going around the streets of Johannesburg for 13 years now.
The father of two, says as a bread winner he needs to do this in order for his family to meet their daily needs. He is also able to support relatives with his earnings.
Koose makes about 25 dollars a day on a full trolley, which he says is better than what he used to make previously.
"The jobs that I did before were like working at construction sites, with this one I can make more money. I can use a shovel and paint but here I get money quickly without anyone treating me badly or swindle me out of my money," said Koose.
South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world with at least one in four South Africans remaining jobless.
The country's education system is partly to blame with more of the country's blacks, excluded from most high-quality education under the previous apartheid regime.
Though the ruling African National Congress (ANC) has made job creation a priority, the rate has been stuck above 20 percent for more than a decade despite periods of strong economic growth, fuelling social unrest.
Forty kilometres away in Lenesia, south of Johannesburg, workers at the CJT Multi Business company sort out used bottles and paper brought in for recycling.
Bottles are separated from cardboard and tins and then they are weighed.
Clive Tuli, the man who runs this business, was retrenched from a packaging company seven months ago after 14 years of service.
The company subcontracted him to collect recyclable material and sell it to them..
"We normally tell people that your dirt is our money, so that's what we do. We lost a lot of dignity in this sense because we go digging bins and look for stuff and at first it was a bit complex but now it has become natural," said Tuli.
Tuli's business is growing faster than he anticipated. For example his in the first month he used to collect only 2.9 tonnes of card board. Now the volume has increased to 12 tonnes.
Apart from selling used materials, he is also trying to teach the community in his area about recycling while at the same time creating employment for youth in the neighbourhood.