Job trends you didn’t see coming

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The recycling and waste management sector has recently become a major source of employment for many young people across Africa, even though it often goes unnoticed.

While most job seekers tend to focus on formal employment opportunities, it is actually the informal sector that holds significant potential for job creation. 

Informal recycling activities such as waste collection, sorting, and trading are already sustaining livelihoods for hundreds of thousands of people, especially in urban areas. 

For example, Zoomlion, a major waste management company, recently announced plans to create 5,000 new jobs across Africa.

Rapid urbanisation, population growth, and changing consumption patterns mean that cities are producing hundreds of millions of tonnes of waste every year, much of which is dumped in open sites or poorly managed landfills. 

According to the World Bank, sub-Saharan Africa’s waste generation is expected to triple by 2050, making it the region with the fastest growth in waste production globally.

Across the continent, millions of people depend on informal recycling for their livelihoods. From plastic collectors in Lagos to scrap metal traders in Harare and waste pickers in Cairo’s ‘Garbage City.’ 

For example:

• In South Africa, informal reclaimers collect up to 80–90% of all post-consumer packaging and paper that gets recycled.
  

• In Nigeria, informal waste collectors are estimated to handle well over half of all recyclable materials entering the waste stream.
  

• Across Africa, estimates suggest hundreds of thousands, possibly several million, people earn their income through waste picking, trading, or small-scale recycling activities.

This has given rise to a vibrant but largely informal recycling sector that plays a critical role in collecting, sorting, and repurposing materials such as plastics, metals, paper, and even e-waste.

What roles are there in recycling and waste management?

• Collection and sorting – these are the main entry points into the recycling sector. They involve gathering and separating recyclable materials from waste and offer low-cost income opportunities, especially in informal settlements. Typical roles include waste pickers, door-to-door collectors, and sorting workers at dumpsites.

• Aggregation and trading – these jobs informal collection to formal recycling markets. They focus on buying, storing, transporting, and reselling recyclables in bulk. Common roles include middle traders, transporters, and sorting center operators who manage neighborhood collection hubs.

• Recycling and processing – these jobs focus on turning collected waste into usable raw materials for industry. They require more technical skills and are often based in small or medium recycling enterprises. Typical roles include plastic pelletizing operators, metal scrap processors, paper pulping technicians, e-waste dismantlers, and machine operators.

• Upcycling and product manufacturing – it combines recycling with innovation and small-scale production. They create new products from waste and are popular with youth and entrepreneurs. Typical roles include fashion and design entrepreneurs, eco-building material producers, and repair and refurbishing technicians.

• Support services and circular economy – these jobs emerge as the sector becomes more structured. They focus on coordination, policy, data, and technology to improve recycling systems. Typical roles include community outreach officers, policy and regulatory officers, waste auditors, environmental managers, and digital platform developers.

Watch how financing is shaping the future of the circular economy