Young entrepreneurs have opened up about the highs and lows of making an honest living in the waste management sector during an event marking Youth Skills Day.

Petco, South Africa’s longest-standing producer responsibility body (PRO), hosted the event under the themes of climate action and the opportunities for youth working in the collection and recycling industry.

“South Africa has one of the highest youth unemployment rates in the world, so it is imperative that we bridge the skills gap and create equal opportunities for youth,” Petco marketing manager Kara Levy told attendees at the event in Killarney, Johannesburg.

Addressing attendees, waste sector entrepreneur Mogomotsi Msumba described how he used to watch his mother collect recyclable materials and sell them to recycling buy-back centres in order to put food on the table. Later, when he could not pay his university fees and had to drop out, he, too, ventured into the collection and recycling industry – opening the Circle of Hope buy-back centre in Orlando West in 2014.

“Recycling is not for the faint-hearted. It’s a tough industry,” said Msumba, who lost everything when his business burnt down in 2019. “If you don’t manage incoming and outgoing volumes, you’ll also lose money. And I did.”

Msumba was quick to acknowledge that support from Petco carried him through difficult times, even when his own family didn’t want to support a losing business. “You cannot do it alone,” he said.

Circle of Hope now works with the CSIR and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment to create new products from recyclable materials which have been discarded as waste. “There’s a lot of waste and a lot of work. Everyone can be a player.”

Harriet Matjila, who started out in the sector as an informal waste picker before launching her company, Makhabisi Recycling and Trading, found it “puzzling to hear people complain about a lack of jobs.”

Since 2020, Petco has supported Makhabisi Recycling with a six-metre trailer for collecting recyclable materials, a baling machine for compressing recyclable materials before on-selling them to recyclers, a Covid relief grant, business branding, and personal protective equipment.

“It’s up to you as an individual, and waste is a large and growing industry,” said Matjila, whose buy-back centre employs 45 people. The business allows her to support her family while also creating income streams for other waste pickers in the Boksburg area.

“It’s been the best experience ever. I’ve discovered a hidden talent in myself,” said Matjila.

Lindiwe Dys, of Lindithando Construction and Projects buy-back centre, said she used to be embarrassed when her parents, who worked as waste pickers, asked her to help them collect recyclable materials for on-selling to buy-back centres.

Today, Lindithando Construction and Projects has 50 employees who help process the recyclable materials brought in by waste pickers. The company, in turn, sells these to recycling companies.

“I’m so proud,” she said. “It’s a hard and lonely journey, but you have to be patient and believe you can make it,” said Dys, who encouraged up-and-coming waste entrepreneurs to “go out and make it happen for yourself”.

Former teacher Eva Mokoena, representing the waste picker body African Reclaimers Organisation (ARO), said more and more young people were entering the sector.

“People think that working in recycling is demeaning, so it’s encouraging to see more young people becoming interested in the industry,” she said.

“People think the government owes us, but we owe it to ourselves to improve our lives, and you can’t do that if you sit on the side of the road. You have to rely on yourself to change your life for the better,” said Mokoena, who has raised five children with the money she earns from the sector.