Wasting the Nation.indd - Groundwork

Chapter 6: Down at the dumpsothers’ spaces and sometimes rest or labour near one another there isa clear spatial division between the two groups. … [T]his is a physicalmanifestation of the tensions and organizational divisions between thetwo groups that are based on gender, age, the type of labour that theyperform, and their vision for reclaiming on the landfill.Having secured sole right to the recyclables, the Phutang directors, who had noexperience of recycling, remained in their full time jobs and tried to “run the businessby cell phone and remote control”. Phutang simply inserted itself in the selling chainbetween the reclaimers and the original buyers, paying the reclaimers less than theycould get from the middlemen directly and substantially reducing their incomes. Thebusiness ran into cash flow problems, at one stage being unable to buy materials fromthe reclaimers. For several months Phutang disappeared from the site and reclaimersran their own buying and selling again. By the beginning of 2008 Ikageng andDitamating had each registered as closed corporations with the intention of biddingfor the recycling contracts. Their plans include moving up the waste stream to connectwith households separating recyclables at source. The two groups approached themunicipality to take over Phutang’s role. Alternatively, they proposed a sub-contractingrelationship to Phutang. However, the municipality refused. In May 2008, Phutangmerged with Remade, a large white-owned company operating across the SouthernAfrican region. Despite the fact that this would undermine the original intentionsof black empowerment, local government officials anticipated smoother running andincreased income from the new deal to supplement the income of the chronicallyunder funded and under staffed waste management department. For its part, Sasolwanted to recover its loan to Phutang and bring order to the municipal dump whichis adjacent to Sasol’s own dumps.Enclosing the dump with a fence – 60% paid for by Sasol – was a key strategy toforce the reclaimers to sell only to Remade-Phutang, and to get police co-operationin controlling access. The reclaimers were also to be controlled through contracts inwhich they undertake to sell what they collect only to Remade-Phutang. At first theyrefused and withheld sales of recyclables from Remade-Phutang for several weeks. Thecompany responded by beefing up security at the gate to prevent the reclaimers takingrecyclables out to sell independently. Then council got tough on Remade-Phutang’sbehalf:- 170 - groundWork - Wasting the Nation