(4 Jul 2025)
ZIMBABWE METAL COLLECTORS
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
RESTRICTIONS:
LENGTH: 3:46
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Harare, Zimbabwe – 8 June 2025
1. Wide of scrap metal collector Ezekiel Mabhiza and another man pulling a trolley and picking scrap on the way
2. Various of scrap metal collector foraging for scrap
3. SOUNDBITE (Shona) Ezekiel Mabhiza, scrap metal collector:
“I left my job as a security guard during the hyperinflation era because it was no longer worth my while to be in formal employment. I would receive $30 instead of $120. I then decided to collect scrap metal, which is a cash-and-carry business, and get paid upon delivery.”
4. Various of scrap metal collectors foraging for scrap
5. Various of scrap metal collectors delivering scrap
6. SOUNDBITE (Shona) Ezekiel Mabhiza, scrap metal collector:
“On a good day, I can earn between $7 and $8. I then deduct $2 to pay for hiring the push cart. After that, I am left with $5, which I take home. I’m actually able to pay my rent.”
7. Wide of Mabhiza receiving cash
8. Various of workers loading a truck with scrap metal
9. Setup shot of Fungai Mataga, scrapyard owner
10. SOUNDBITE (Shona) Fungai Mataga, scrapyard owner:
“It’s a dirty job, yes, but people rarely understand how important it is. They are society’s cleaning crew. Every piece of metal they bring here is one less item polluting our land.”
11. Wide of the scrapyard
12. Various of Joyce Machiri, Zimbabwe Environmental Lawyers Association, working at desk
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Joyce Machiri, Zimbabwe Environmental Lawyers Association:
"You find that these communities are actually some of the unsung heroes that we could actually be talking about, because when you look at scrap, no one could actually say ‘Wow, this is a good job’. But look at it this way, these are some of the green jobs that we are talking about.”
14. Tilt-up from scrap metal on the ground to workers loading a truck with scrap metal
15. Wide of collectors offloading scrap
16. SOUNDBITE (Shona) Lovemore Sibanada, scrap metal collector "At first, I would lose my appetite for days after seeing things like that, now I’m used to it, this is my office, this is where the money is.”
17. Mid of scrap collectors
18. Wide of collectors leaving the scrapyard pulling their trolley
STORYLINE:
LEADIN:
Collecting scrap metal is a way for some of Zimbabwe’s poorest people to make a living.
But the job is also an environmental bonus, removing waste that would otherwise pollute the landscape.
STORYLINE:
There’s money to be made in the trash.
Ezekiel Mabhiza digs through one of the many dumpsites that scar Zimbabwe’s capital.
Sifting through the filth, discarded diapers and broken appliances, he’s looking for scrap metal.
It might not seem like a desirable job, but he’s found it more profitable than other options.
“I left my job as a security guard during the hyperinflation era because it was no longer worth my while to be in formal employment. I would receive $30 instead of $120. I then decided to collect scrap metal, which is a cash-and-carry business, and get paid upon delivery,” he says.
By midday, his pushcart is full.
Springs from old mattresses, car parts, tin cans — 66 kilograms (145 pounds) of salvaged metal.
Across Harare, thousands like Mabhiza live off scrap metal.
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