Chronicle Editor
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Chronicle Reporter
A FILABUSI man has chosen to leave his family behind and settle at the Gwanda Town dumpsite as he collects recyclable waste.
Mr Mbulawa Msipha (43) who is a father of four has chosen the path of being a trash monger. He collects recyclable waste from the dumpsite which he sells to middle men who supply recycling companies.
Mr Msipha occasionally sends money to his family.
While others who are in the same business operate from their homes, Mr Msipha has chosen to turn the dumpsite into his home and office.
Mr Msipha said staying at the dumpsite helps him to be the first to sift through the trash whenever trucks come to offload it.
He said when trucks come they jump onto them and sift through the trash before it is offloaded.
This makes it easier for them to identify new wares before they are mixed with the other trash which is already at the dumpsite.
He said he works throughout the week as everyday a truck drives in to offload waste.
“For others this place might seem like a filthy place which they can’t stand but for me this is a gold mine and it’s also my home.
This is where I earn a living.
Today I might look dirty and scruffy and appear like a vagabond but one day I will build a big house using the money I get here,” he said.
Mr Msipha said he does not want to leave his wares unattended as people may steal them. He has a counterpart who lives with him at the dumpsite and at any given time either one of them will be at their work station in order to guard their property.
To make himself comfortable, Mr Msipha has set up a temporary shack and pitched a tent which he sleeps in. He has been staying at the dumpsite for a year.
When the Chronicle newcrew arrived at the scene, Mr Msipha was busy sorting out his waste material.
“I decided to come and stay here and do what I do in order to earn a living.
I collect recyclable waste and then I sell it. I stay at the dumpsite; I buy my food and cook it here. My life is now here at the dumpsite.
If I leave my wares here people can steal them so that’s why I chose to stay here,” he said
“I have a family in Filabusi and whenever I can I send money to them.
At first, I used to stay a few days at the dumpsite and go home leaving my things behind but people would steal them and I then decided to stay at the dumpsite full time.
When I want to visit my family, my colleague remains behind guarding our wares. Whenever we want to buy food one goes and the other remains.”
Mr Msipha said some people look down upon him and think he is a crazy man because he stays at the dumpsite.
He said he is a normal human being like anyone. He said he did not look down upon his work as his objective is to make money.
Mr Msipha said he does not make large sums of money but the cash he makes enables him to fend for his family.
He said the price of the recyclable material was determined by their buyers.
“The challenge we have in this business is that at times our buyers shortchange us.
They don’t have fixed prices so they come and offer us figures on a particular day.
We don’t have means to delivery our products straight to the recycling companies which are in Bulawayo and Harare so we have to rely on the middle man.
If we had means we could sell directly to the companies because they have fixed prices and this way, we can make more money,” he said.
The chat with Mr Msipha was however cut short as he had to rush off to sift through trash which had just come into the dumpsite in a truck.
Together with other trash mongers they dug into the pile of trash looking for recyclable material.
Many people in various towns across the country have embraced recycling as a source of livelihood as they collect litter which they sell to recycling companies.
Some of them collect their recycling material from dumpsites in their areas while others collect from litter found within houses.
They sell some of their recycling material to manufacturing companies in Bulawayo or Harare. The recycling material they collect which is made from aluminum material such as empty cans is used to make three legged pots, aluminum window and door frames among other products.
Manufacturing companies also use the recycled material to make new products.
In Bulawayo the activity has gathered momentum with some people collecting their recycling material from the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) landfill site popularly known as Ngozi Mine in Richmond Suburb. — @DubeMatutu
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