South Africa’s waste crisis is not experienced evenly, and neither are its solutions. A new DGMT-commissioned study by the Institute of Natural Resources examines how solid waste management plays out in two very different contexts: the rural village of Sambane in KwaZulu-Natal and the Quarry Road informal settlement in eThekwini. Through participatory research, pilot recycling interventions and lessons drawn from countries such as India and Brazil, the report explores how waste mismanagement affects people and environments, how communities respond when services fail, and where real opportunities exist in the waste economy, from recycling and re-use to integrating waste pickers into formal systems.
What emerges is a clear message: context matters, and community participation is non-negotiable. Whether dealing with faecal contamination in urban recyclables or the prohibitive costs of transporting waste in rural areas, effective interventions must be locally grounded and system-aware. The report outlines practical pathways for government, the private sector and civil society to work together, including leveraging extended producer responsibility, supporting community initiatives, and linking waste management to enterprise development and job creation. In doing so, it positions waste not only as an environmental challenge, but as a lever for tackling inequality and building productive synergies between communities and the environment.
