Serwala Botlhoko

‘Qubu ya dithwele’ (2025) - ‘Qubu ya dithwele’ (which translates to ‘A pile of junk’ in Sesotho) is a documentary photography series exploring the day-to-day experiences of waste reclaimers within Johannesburg. Much of the city’s efforts at reuse and recycling of materials often categorised as waste are reclaimed by a community of waste reclaimers. The community of waste reclaimers within Johannesburg are often from low–income areas or migrant workers who relocate away from their families in Lesotho (South Africa’s closest neighbouring country), Waste reclaimers contribute greatly to South Africa’s recycling efforts, and according to Linzner and Lange, 2013), there are about 200,00 of them within the country. In spite of efforts by community organisers and the government to formalise their work, only about 8000 waste reclaimers are formally registered. I’m interested in unraveling the implications of how the lack of integration of these workers into the work force plays out within urban areas in South Africa. I’m also interested in the ethical aspect of this exploration, so maintaining the anonymity of every individual within this series is important to me.

Source: Linzner, R.; Lange, U. Role and size of informal sector in waste management—A review. Waste Resour. Manag.
2013, 166, 69–83.