Any entrepreneur will tell you that building a successful and sustainable business doesn’t happen overnight. This is especially true for wastepreneur Cecilia Buyiswa Matenshi, who spent more than 20 years overcoming personal adversity before entering the recycling space.
Buyiswa was first introduced to waste collection through her late brother-in-law, Piet Matenshi, who began working with Mondi Recycling in the late 1980s before Mpact Recycling demerged from the Mondi Group. Piet later brought his brother — Buyiswa’s late husband, Luckas — into Mondi’s owner-driver programme. This marked the start of the Matenshi family’s longstanding commitment to sustainability and their decades-long relationship with Mpact Recycling.
In 2006, Luckas encouraged Buyiswa to join Mondi Recycling’s Pikitup programme, which sorted and separated materials at source and landfill sites, and she embraced the opportunity. Tragedy struck in 2011 when Luckas suddenly passed away, and Buyiswa found herself the sole breadwinner for her family.
Undeterred, she strengthened her commitment to the recycling trade so she could afford to raise her two children — a decision that really paid off. Not only did it enable her to put food on the table and pay for expenses but enabled her to pay the tuition fees for her children’s tertiary education. As a result, today her eldest child is a qualified chemical engineer, and the youngest is pursuing a degree in civil engineering.
“I’ve been selling my recycling materials through Mpact Recycling for 19 years,” she says. “My house, my clothing, my car, and the success of my kids are all successful products of recycling.”
In addition to being a sorter at the Pikitup Garden Site in Victory Park, Buyiswa runs the Faraday Buy-Back Centre where she employs three people and hopes to expand the facility to support more livelihoods. Her grassroots leadership extends beyond her recycling business; she actively organises prayer sessions and spearheads initiatives to combat unemployment. This dedication to community upliftment and sustainability has earned her 1st Place in Community Recycling at the Victory Park Garden Site in Johannesburg.
As a woman thriving in what is still a male-dominated informal recycling sector, she is blazing a trail for others to follow. The recycling sector plays a vital role in women’s economic empowerment in South Africa, particularly in underserved communities. Women like Buyiswa don’t just earn an income; they also step up to become leaders in their communities, using the recycling value chain to build dignity, independence, and opportunities for themselves and their families.
Buyiswa believes that every single household has the ability to recycle, and that waste collectors can earn a proper living working in the recycling industry. “In 2024, I collected over 70 000 tonnes of recycling,” she says proudly. “A job is in your hand and you can make money through recycling.”
The South African Wastepickers Association estimates that 4 000 to 6 000 waste collectors across the country play a crucial role in diverting waste from municipal landfills. Mpact Recycling’s support of these inclusive supply chains has created a business model that now partners with more than 60 buy-back centres, as well as hundreds of informal waste collectors and small business owners across South Africa. This has helped create sustainable livelihoods, especially for women and those in the MSME sector.
Buyiswa is just one of many unsung heroes in the informal recycling economy. Her inspiring story reflects what is possible when people are provided with opportunities and support to help them succeed.