Five-year-old hands grip a small yellow hammer, crushing aluminium cans outside a small house in Embo, west of Durban. 

By the end of the day, Nokulunga Nkabinde hopes the bulging clear bag filled with cans will earn enough money to buy some vegetables, bread and a few eggs for her family.

Many unemployed women in the rural community are also the breadwinners in their families. 

For some, collecting discarded cans has become the only way they’re able to feed their children. 

Nkabinde (31), a mother of two boys aged seven and five, spends her days collecting discarded beverage, beer and energy drink cans before selling them to a nearby scrap metal buy-back centre.

“I turn cans into cash,” she says with a smile.

“As I am unemployed this is how I make a living. The money I earn from collecting and selling cans, I use to buy food like vegetables, bread and 10 kg rice,” she says. 

“It helps, also for my own essential items, plus I give my children money to carry to school.”

Nkabinde says a full bag of crushed cans can earn her around R300 at the local scrap metal dealer, where aluminium currently sells for about R21.50 per kilogram.

She earns between R550 and R800 per month from recycling. 

She says the money must feed a household of seven people, including her grandmother, mother and two siblings. 

The extended family has a combined monthly income of just under R6,000 – but Nkabinde says it doesn’t stretch far.

The two pensioners receive old-age grants, with a combined income of about R4,800 between the two. Nkabinde says her two children also received child support grants of R580 each, but she has to spend R800 every month on school transport.

The rest of the family’s income comes from money Nkabinde and her sisters make from recycling.

“All of us are unemployed. That is why I collect and sell cans to help put food on the table and support my family.”

Exposed to the elements

After selling her cans, Nkabinde heads straight to the local spaza shop to buy groceries. 

Lunch for the afternoon is simple: rice, cabbage and eggs. On other days the family eats beans with mealie meal.

Although the income helps keep food on the table, Nkabinde says it is unpredictable.

There are days when rain or cold weather prevents her from collecting cans. Nkabinde says on those days the family has less money to buy food.

Women collect cans together

Another Embo resident, 51-year-old Gloria Diya, has been collecting cans for more than a decade.

She says the income from selling the cans to buy-back centres has helped her support her family. Diya says unemployment in the area is high.

“I normally get R300 or more with the full black bag of crushed cans on good days,” she says. 

“And with the money I receive, I buy food such as veggies, fruits, bread, mealie meal and other essential items which are needed in my house.”

Diya says she often collects cans with a group of other women before walking to a scrap metal buy-back centre to sell them.

She says in a good month she can make up to R800 from can-recycling.  

The money she makes supplements her husband’s old-age grant of R2400 per month. She says he occasionally finds piece jobs when they’re available.

“We never went to bed hungry but we are not eating decently like other people who would eat seven colours of food every day, making sure that they get all the nutrients and protein the body needs,” she says.  

“There’s no other fancy things but I do buy a few snacks or sweets to treat myself and the kids.”

The work, however, comes with challenges.

“There are tough times when collecting cans, especially if the weather is cold or it’s raining,” she says.

Can-recycling becomes a lifeline for many unemployed Embo residents

For many women in Embo, collecting recyclable materials has become one of the few ways to earn an income in a community where jobs are scarce.

Prisca Mhlongo, an induna, or advisor under the Mkhize Traditional Council, says can-recycling has become an important source of income for many families.

“Can-recycling plays a very important role in this community because almost everyone collects them,” she says. 

“It puts food on the table, pays for scholar transport, buys school uniforms for children and many essential things needed within a family.”

Mhlongo says some women use the money they earn to buy vegetable seeds and start home gardens, helping families stretch limited incomes even further.

“Every can they recycle helps save energy, reduce waste pollution and keeps our community clean and healthier.”

Amid high unemployment, the empty cans scattered along Embo’s roads have become more than litter. 

According to Mhlongo, collecting and selling cans is the difference between going hungry and putting a meal on the table for many families.