Waste Now Worth Stealing: Glen View Recycling Project Sparks Scramble for Discarded Material

Glenaview,Harare-What was once regarded as worthless rubbish has become a prized community resource in Glen View, where residents are now competing for recyclable waste following the success of the Joint Community Waste Management Project being implemented by Community Water Alliance. Community members say the demand for recyclable waste has become so intense that some residents now wake up early to collect materials before others do, while others have resorted to taking waste that has already been sorted by fellow beneficiaries. “We never imagined that one day people would steal rubbish,” said Memory Chikono, one of the beneficiaries.

“We now have to keep our bags of cans and plastics inside our yards because they disappear overnight. It shows the project is working, but we need security.” Another beneficiary, Tatenda Moyo, said the project has completely changed attitudes in the community. “Some people laughed at us when we started collecting waste.

Today, those same people want to join the project because they have seen that waste can generate income. There is now competition for recyclable materials, and we even have to market ourselves to households so they give us their waste instead of someone else.” Participants also highlighted several operational challenges affecting their businesses. They said transport costs to ferry recyclable waste to markets in Chitungwiza continue to consume a significant portion of their earnings, reducing profitability.

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“Our protective clothing is now worn out after months of work,” explained one participant. “We also need more training in business record keeping, especially on how to properly record debts, credits, income and expenditure so that we can grow our recycling enterprises.” Community members further appealed for technical support to enable them to formally register themselves as a community recycling enterprise, saying legal registration would improve their credibility and open doors to more business opportunities. Responding to the concerns, Community Water Alliance National Coordinator, Hardlife Mudzingwa, assured beneficiaries that the organisation was already addressing many of the issues raised.

“The success of this project has exceeded expectations, and we are encouraged to see that waste, which was once an environmental burden, has become an economic resource,” said Mudzingwa. “Construction of the Integrated Community Waste Recovery and Recycling Centre is being fast-tracked and will be completed as soon as possible. Once operational, the centre will have appropriate security measures in place to minimise cases of theft and provide a safe storage facility for recyclable materials.” Mudzingwa also announced that Community Water Alliance will soon procure tricycles to improve the collection and transportation of waste from communities to the recycling centre.

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