Wasting the Nation.indd - Groundwork

Chapter 6: Down at the dumpsfifteen years. Samson describes the scene at the dump to show how the reclaimers havemade it their space:There is one permanent municipal employee at the entrance who keepsrecords of vehicles entering the site, and one other permanent municipalworker with a bulldozer who toils alone to cover the rubbish. Over thecourse of the fieldwork no supervisors or municipal officials were seen atthe dump, and there is virtually no municipal presence at the site.The dump is clearly the domain of the fifty or so seSotho speaking reclaimersfrom surrounding areas who work there on a daily basis. Upon arrival atthe top of the dump visitors are usually greeted by two or three young menlounging on a sofa at the top of the hill. The reclaimers have salvaged arange of furniture from the dump, and outdoor living rooms and rest areasdot the landscape. …. In early 2008 the municipality finally succeededin removing the shacks where some of the reclaimers lived on the dumpitself. However a few structures remain where some of the reclaimers storetheir clothes, personal items and even files containing documents relevantto their struggles. Although there is no water or toilet facilities at the topof the site the reclaimers haul water from the bottom so that they can washand change before heading home at night.Walking around the dump one is immediately struck by the extent towhich the reclaimers have organized the space and claimed it as their own… When trucks arrive reclaimers rush to retrieve materials, which theythen carry back to their individual working spots. The section closest tothe entrance is the preserve of the young men who collect scrap metal.They have several couches and sitting areas (a few covered by umbrellas)where they sort their materials and sit and smoke when there is nothingto be done. Although the men now work individually they labour inclose proximity to one another and are usually found in groups. As youprogress deeper into the dump you find the individual workspaces of theolder women and men who collect paper, plastics and cardboard. Each ofthese salvagers has his or her own individual workplace, which is clearlydemarcated by the large white sacks that he or she fills with recyclablematerials. There is less furniture and collective spaces in this zone of thedump. Although the reclaimers from the two groups pass through eachWasting the Nation - groundWork - 169 -