Abstract
M.Tech. (Architectural Technology)
The City of Johannesburg has no formal
recycling strategy and waste is simply
dumped as collected in designated
landfill sites. Yet these landfill sites,
reportedly, will be good for no more
than another eight years. Throughout
the city there is an informal network
of waste collectors commonly known as
trolley pushers who, together with the
private buy-back and recycle centres,
form the only real system of recycling
in Johannesburg.
There is no infrastructure for the
trolley pushers, men and women who
perform a vital function. There are
no dedicated spaces and very little
tolerance from the residents of
Johannesburg. The trolley pushers sleep
amongst their collection of waste, or
travel far to start each day in the
very early hours of the morning. They
roll their improvised trolleys full of
goods in the street among the traffic of
commuters, hindering and being hindered.
They store their messy waste, when they
can in unsafe and public spaces, such as
under bridges and on the side of some
roads.
Storage is such a problem for trolley
pushers that often they’re forced to
sell their goods as soon as they collect
them, when the fluctuating prices may
be too low. They are always essentially
at the mercy of the privately-owned buyback
centres. Their days are long and
they have no ablution facilities, no
designated space to catch their breath,
eat, obtain drinking water, network or
socialise.
This project is about changing that by
facilitating the informal recycling
sector, providing the convenient
infrastructure without formalising the
process. The term ‘convenient’ in
this context encompasses spaces close
to the buy-back centre, with low tech,
low maintenance, mixed-use facilities.
These facilities include secure sorting
and storage spaces, sleeping, ablution
and social spaces. The essence of this
project is to encourage, empower and
improve work and income potential in the
informal waste recycling sector through
simple, appropriate architectural
interventions that are essentially selfmaintaining.