This photo story was done as an assignment for my third year photojournalism portfolio. It was an extremely moving and eye opening experience, one I learned huge amounts from and will never forget.
A devoted team of recyclers gather at the Grahamstown dumpsite, South Africa on Friday, 2 August 2013. Stepo Maki (group leader) and the rest of his group work together from Monday-Friday collecting recyclable materials that have been discarded at the dump. The collectables are then taken to the recycling plant where they are then exchanged for money. ©Vanessa Knight Photography
Team leader, Stepo Maki, talks about the agreement he and many other foragers have with the Grahamstown municipality regarding the collection of refuse. Stepo elaborates and states that the collectors and the municipality have a solid relationship that allows them to continue their assemblage without any illegal repercussions. He expresses that the agreement is a two way street that is beneficial to both parties. ©Vanessa Knight Photography
The first refuse truck of the day off loads its waste at the Grahamstown dumpsite on Monday, 2 August 2013. Each Monday and Wednesday, the municipal refuse trucks transport discarded rubbish from around the city of Grahamstown to the abandoned quarry, which now serves as the local dump. Locals at the dump say that these days are the best for collecting recyclable and other materials. ©Vanessa Knight Photography
A local forager drags empty sacks behind him following the recent arrival of a refuse truck. Whilst Stepo Maki and his group work together and split the profit from their findings, others work alone and so are often less successful. ©Vanessa Knight Photography
Another member of Stepo Maki's team, Thabe Sebola, shows me the goggles he uses when sifting through the deposited waste at the Grahamstown dumpsite. The abandoned quarry, now used as the towns landfill, is often particularly dusty and so uses the goggles to protect his eyes. ©Vanessa Knight Photography
Foragers sift through the newly deposited refuse at the Grahamstown dumpsite. Due to the high levels of unemployment in Grahamstown, many locals make a living off the items they find at the dumpsite. These locals, among numerous others, can be found at the site from Monday to Friday, living day to day on what they can find. ©Vanessa Knight Photography
Mesta Yako, Stepo's right hand man, explains the ins and outs of the team’s collection process at the Grahamstown dumpsite on Friday, 2 August 2013. Mesta acknowledges Stepo’s superior and commanding role within the team and later goes on to voice his understanding and appreciation for the leadership stability. ©Vanessa Knight Photography
Themba Ralo, the third member of Stepo’s collection team, shows that the food delivered by visiting American Marines is more than fit for human consumption. With no utensils to eat the food, makeshift spoons are made from cardboard strips. Edible food deposited at the dump is an irregular luxury for these individuals and so is often cause for great excitement. ©Vanessa Knight Photography
A woman walks away with her findings at the end of the day at the Grahamstown Dumpsite on Friday, 2 August 2013. Despite the numerous individuals that collect refuse from the site, according to Stepo Maki there is no competition or rivalry between involved parties. ©Vanessa Knight Photography
Themba Ralo (left) and Thabe Sebola (right) sort through their days collection of plastic bottles and cans among other materials at the Grahamstown dumpsite. The recycling of plastics is ordered by colour and so before the material can be transported, the different coloured caps are separated from each of the bottles. ©Vanessa Knight Photography
Themba Ralo carries a heavy bag of collected tin cans to the back of a truck headed to the nearby recycling plant. On this day he had unfortunately missed the transport truck to the recycling plant and so was forced to carry the heavy bag of refuse on his head. The recycling plant is approximately 800m from the dumpsite. ©Vanessa Knight Photography
Stepo Maki receives help from a fellow team member when tying bags full of salvaged materials at the end of a days work. Smiling from ear to ear Stepo asserts that "today was a good day, I will feed my family". ©Vanessa Knight Photography
As the last stop Stepo takes his bag of refuse from the weighing station to the piles of material waiting to be compressed and recycled on Monday, 26 August 2013 at the Grahamstown recycling plant. Each collected item is worth a said amount with plastic at R1 per kilogram etc. ©Vanessa Knight Photography
After getting rid of the days collectables, Stepo returns to the office at the Grahamstown recycling plant where he waits to recieve his hard earned stipend. Stepo explains that some days yield better results than others and the industry is essentially based on luck. ©Vanessa Knight Photography
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