FMSA has entered into a strategic management partnership with Green Deeds Recycling to contribute to the upliftment and education of society by providing basic education and life skills coaching to the street waste pickers within our network. The intention is to formalise all training in recognized and accredited training courses.

This training includes

• Induction Training
• First Aid
• Health and Safety
• Environmental Awareness

From a Skills Development perspective we focus on

• The provision of basic life skill courses to entry level qualifications
• Recycling trading and business management skills transfer to SMMEs
• Introduction to financial services to the previously “unbankable” through:
  • Bank facilities with bank cards
  • Basic personal budgeting
  • Life and funeral cover

Regular street waste pickers are logged on our system so that we can track their progress and offer assistance. The plan is to help them start their own businesses as SMMEs.

Meet Abraham, one of the regular waste pickers. He has a similar story to thousands of others. Abraham is from a rural area and has a Grade 7 education. He once worked in the formal sector as a plaster, but was retrenched. The need to find work drew him to the city and there he discovered recycling.

At some stage, FMSA provided him with a trolley, which he loads with waste items collected from landfill and residential bins. Items normally collected include aluminium cans, cardboard, paper, plastic, and metals.

His day typically starts at 5am and ends as night falls, and during that period he can cover 15km, all the time pulling his increasingly heavy load. He heads out every day, rain or shine. But although Abraham asserts that it’s a tough job, he says it stills pays well. Plus it’s his only source of income.

“Even if I find a formal job, I’ll continue to work part-time as a waste picker,” says Abraham. “I regard this as my own business. On good days I can earn up to R200.”

He lives in a shack and sends money home whenever he can. He has no access to formal banking accounts and facilities or any financial services products.  “One day I’d like to own a home and have my family living with me. I still believe it’s possible.”