“To earn money for myself, I would much rather climb the mountain”: The experiences of landfill waste pickers in East London, South Africa

“To earn money for myself, I would much rather climb the mountain”: The experiences of landfill waste pickers in East London, South Africa

Mzukisi Xweso

Issue: Vol. 7 No.5 2026 Article 4 pp.1222 – 1231
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2026754 Published online 23rd June 2026

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ABSTRACT

This study explores the lived experiences and vulnerabilities of landfill waste pickers in East London, South Africa, through the lens of Beck’s Risk Society Theory, which frames their daily realities as products of systemic and socially manufactured risks. Landfill waste pickers operate in hazardous environments where economic survival intersects with exposure to toxic waste, emotional trauma, and social exclusion. Positioned within these risk-laden contexts, they embody the contradictions of modern society, where those mitigating environmental harm remain unprotected and invisible within formal structures. To investigate these experiences, the study employed a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design, with this article focusing on the qualitative phase. Twelve participants were selected through convenience sampling, and data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed thematically. The findings revealed that waste pickers face multiple, intersecting vulnerabilities, including health hazards, food insecurity, lack of identity documents, and exclusion from social welfare programmes. Despite these challenges, they contribute significantly to environmental sustainability and the recycling economy. Interpreted within the framework of Developmental Social Work (DSW), the study highlights the urgent need to recognise waste pickers as active economic agents that deserve inclusion, social protection, and empowerment. It concludes that a rights-based developmental approach, grounded in social justice, is essential to transform their resilience into empowerment and ensure that those who sustain the environment are no longer left behind.

Keywords: Landfill sites, South Africa, Sustainable Development Goals, waste pickers, waste management.

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ABOUT AUTHOR(S)

Dr. Mzukisi Xweso is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Social Work at North-West University and is affiliated with the Lifestyle Diseases Research Entity. His research primarily focuses on informal workers, particularly day labourers and waste pickers, with an emphasis on the socioeconomic challenges they encounter. His scholarly work seeks to advance social justice, economic inclusion and the empowerment of marginalised populations by bridging research and practice to foster sustainable community transformation. More recently, his research trajectory has shifted towards exploring the lived experiences of female waste pickers, with particular attention to their caregiving responsibilities and the ways in which they provide care and support for their children within conditions of economic vulnerability.

TO CITE ARTICLE

Xweso, Mzukisi. ““To earn money for myself, I would much rather climb the mountain”: The experiences of landfill waste pickers in East London, South Africa.” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 7, no.5 (2026): 1122 – 1231. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2026754