Socio-economic determinants of the occurrence and type of municipal solid waste collected by waste pickers within the greater Letaba municipality, Limpopo province, South Africa

This study assessed the socio-economic determinants of the type of solid waste collected by waste pickers at Tzaneen landfill site in Greater Letaba Municipality (GLM). A purposive sampling (total population) technique was used, with 50 waste pickers from the study area participating voluntarily. A quantitative research approach was employed, involving the administration of structured questionnaires to the waste pickers for data collection. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 29.00 and multinomial logit model were used to analyze the data. Results revealed that more male (80%) than female respondents engaged in waste collection. At 36%, cans were the most frequently collected solid waste items. The multinomial regression results indicated that determinants such as age, gender, level of education, and race significantly influenced the choice of solid waste collected, mode of transport, and storage capabilities. The insights provided by this study are crucial for recommending effective policies and interventions that could inclusively assist waste pickers with transportation of waste, landfill infrastructure, recycling training, and support programs, as the world moves towards a circular economy.