STORIES OF PEOPLE & PLACES

Building classrooms from single-use plastic

Building classrooms from single-use plastic

The Earthly Touch Foundation builds classrooms out of eco-bricks for a local social outreach project in Diepsloot. With a team of experienced designers and builders, Earthly Touch Foundation has ...
Waste reclaimers have a bad rep. Why?

Waste reclaimers have a bad rep. Why?

In leafy suburbs with regular waste removal, residents are generally happy with the services they are getting. But they are, however, suspicious about the intentions of the different waste ...
The waste troubles of an average township

The waste troubles of an average township

Saulsville is a township on the western extremes of the Tshwane metropolitan municipality. It was established under the apartheid government’s Group Areas Act to house Tsonga and Venda-speaking ...
The link between unhealthy food and litter

The link between unhealthy food and litter

The stories offered here are an expression of how some people in the Karoo have come to think about the connections between rubbish, ill-health and their relationship to the land. It draws on ...
Litter a signifier of disease

Litter a signifier of disease

In 2019, the Eastern Cape Karoo was in the midst of a crippling drought — some said the worst they’d ever seen. The Nqwebo dam in Graaff Reinet had gone dry. More than 600 volunteers, young and ...
Informal economies need support

Informal economies need support

One of the major needs in getting waste management systems right is the better inclusion and recognition of informal waste reclaimers. The thousands of individuals across the country who are ...
Making a living off the dump

Making a living off the dump

Themba is in his 30s and is a waste reclaimer living in Diepsloot. He travels through the settlement with his wooden cart and large bags, searching the dumpsites for cardboard, paper, plastic ...
Displacement and waste

Displacement and waste

In Pearston, a small town between Graaff Reinet and Somerset East where residents live off groundwater, the river is dry but pouring with rubbish.  For decades, Pearston’s riverbed has separated ...
Make it easier to recycle, even in well-off suburbs

Make it easier to recycle, even in well-off suburbs

Zelda lives in a middle class suburb outside Pretoria. “For those of us who want to separate our waste and put out different bags, the garbage collectors don’t care – they just put everything ...
The trail of junk food

The trail of junk food

The Eastern Cape Karoo has been battling drought along with water outages and hikes in the price of municipal water. Because they struggle to access water, both the rich and the poor in the ...
Living next to a dump

Living next to a dump

Somerset East is a small town in the Eastern Cape Karoo. Here, as in many other towns around the country, apartheid planning is on full display, with the town centre in the valley, and its ...
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