{"id":873969,"date":"2026-09-06T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=873969"},"modified":"2026-09-04T17:44:38","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T15:44:38","slug":"this-is-how-much-bin-pickers-make-in-south-africa-with-some-earning-r28000","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/873969\/this-is-how-much-bin-pickers-make-in-south-africa-with-some-earning-r28000\/","title":{"rendered":"This is how much \u2018bin pickers\u2019 make in South Africa \u2013 with some earning R28,000"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The majority of waste or bin pickers in South Africa earn between R300 and R600 per week, but some can earn as much as R7,000, which is more than the average formally employed worker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In South Africa’s waste management sector, there is a significant economic divide between formal municipal waste collectors (employed by organisations like Pikitup) and informal waste reclaimers, commonly known as “bin pickers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Formal workers employed through Pikitup\u2019s February 2026 General Worker intake receive a dependable basic salary of R10,616.38 per month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This stable, contracted wage is unaffected by fluctuations in market commodities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to this basic salary, formal employees typically qualify for municipal employment benefits, such as medical aid and pension contributions, and are provided with all the necessary tools of their trade and protective clothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The earnings of informal waste pickers are highly volatile; top-performing collectors can earn significantly more than their formal counterparts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2022, an academic report<\/a> indicated that more than 70% of surveyed informal bin pickers earn less than R600 a week (under R2,400 a month).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report showed that the largest group (39%) had weekly incomes between R300 and R600, while the lowest recorded earnings were R100 per week.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Highly productive informal bin pickers, often using specialised local knowledge or focusing on lucrative e-waste items, such as cables and screens, can earn up to R7,000 per week, which comes to R28,000 per month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This amount exceeds South Africa\u2019s national average formal salary of R26,894 per month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moves towards integrating informal bin pickers into the economy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

According to the National Waste Management Strategy (NWMS) published earlier this year, between 60,000 and 90,000 informal waste reclaimers recover about 90% of all post-consumer paper and packaging in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NWMS revealed that this saves municipalities between R300 million and R750 million annually in landfill costs.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This high level of recovery from the informal sector persists despite the lack of formal contracts, stable infrastructure, and predictable income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The draft NWMS 2026 aims to significantly change the perception of informal waste reclaimers, recognising them as central participants in the circular economy rather than as actors outside of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The draft NWMS introduces a new understanding of informal waste collection and support. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than viewing waste picking as a supplementary activity to formal waste services, the NWMS 2026 integrates it into the regulated waste economy through updated Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To ensure fair and transparent operation of this system, formal recognition is important. The South African Waste Picker Registration System (SAWPRS) is mentioned in the NWMS 2026 as the official means of recording and acknowledging waste pickers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reclaimers are self-employed individuals who earn a living by collecting, sorting, and selling recyclable materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They usually rummage through household dustbins on curbs, searching near shops and businesses, or working directly at landfill sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the 2026 Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policy guidelines, registered reclaimers are legally entitled to receive a standardised tariff of 15 cents per kilogram (15c\/kg) based on the weight of the materials they sell.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reclaimer associations like the African Reclaimers Organisation (ARO) have protested against this rate, labelling it an inadequate “slave wage,” and have been demanding urgent renegotiations for a true living wage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To qualify for payouts under the newly implemented digital Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) service fee, reclaimers must register with the SAWPRS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Informal waste picking has minimal barriers to entry, which makes it a safety net during economic downturns and periods of high unemployment.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To become an informal waste picker, one must be physically fit and able to push and manoeuvre heavy manual trolleys over long distances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, to secure a job as a formal municipal waste collector, such as for Pikitup, applicants must meet stringent criteria, which include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • residing within the City of Johannesburg ( for Pikitup specifically) with certified proof of residence<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • a minimum of a Grade 10 qualification<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • at least 12 months of verifiable cleaning or general work experience<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • being a South African citizen with a clear criminal record<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Informal bin pickers in South Africa can earn up to R28,000 a month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":316404,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2096614663630795022","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2197710787715987","_sma_instagram_post_id":"17945093103322379","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[26417,26416,10847],"class_list":["post-873969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-extended-producer-responsibility-epr","tag-informal-waste-pickers","tag-pikitup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=873969"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":873994,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873969\/revisions\/873994"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/316404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=873969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=873969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=873969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}