South Africa generates over 107 million tonnes of waste every year, and it is women, largely unrecognised and unprotected, who keep much of it out of landfill. As the country marks Woman’s Month this August, the Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa (IWMSA) is calling for greater recognition of women’s role across the sector, from the informal reclaimers who sort waste at the kerbside to the engineers and executives steering the industry’s future.

Women carry the sector, but rarely lead it

Waste collection and recycling in South Africa remain overwhelmingly feminised at the ground level. Buy-back centre studies show women make up more than half of workers at recycling drop-off points, and thousands more sustain their households through informal reclaiming. Yet formal governance structures, boardrooms and leadership positions across the industry tell a different story: women are consistently underrepresented where decisions about the sector’s future are made.

“There’s a real disconnect between who does the work and who shapes the policy,” says Rochelle Clarke, incoming Chairperson of the Eastern Cape branch of the IWMSA. “Women are the sector’s backbone, but too often they’re invisible in the rooms where waste management’s future is decided.”

The barriers are structural, not incidental

Research into South Africa’s informal waste economy points to a consistent pattern: women reclaimers are frequently confined to lower-paying, less mobile sorting work, while higher-value material collection remains male-dominated. Safety is a constant concern, with women reclaimers facing harassment and violence in the course of their work. Add to this a lack of formal recognition, unstable income, and limited access to finance or training, and the barriers to advancement become clear.

Where the opportunities lie

IWMSA believes the sector’s next chapter offers real openings for women, provided the industry acts deliberately:

• Formal integration of reclaimers into municipal waste systems, giving women reclaimers legal recognition, safer working conditions and a stable income base
• Skills development and mentorship pathways into technical, engineering and management roles within formal waste companies
• Leadership pipelines within industry bodies and municipal structures, so women’s on-the-ground experience translates into decision-making power
• Support for women-led enterprises in recycling, buy-back operations and circular economy ventures

“Women don’t need to be convinced they belong in this industry. They’re already carrying it,” says Rochelle “What we need is for the sector to catch up: to formalise their work, invest in their advancement, and put them in leadership positions they’ve earned many times over.”

A call to the sector

This Women’s Month, IWMSA is urging waste management companies, municipalities and industry peers to look critically at where women sit in their organisations, and to commit to concrete steps toward equity: from safer working conditions for reclaimers to genuine leadership representation.