Ubuntu on the street(s): relationships and relationship(ing) dynamics among waste players in Glenwood, Durban, South Africa

The South African waste management ecosystem is characterised by competition and rivalry between the formal and informal sectors. Although this dynamic has been widely documented, it is too often presented as binary, with one sector standing in contrast and opposition to the other, a characterisation that overlooks the everyday realities of waste workers. Drawing on ethnographic research in eThekwini Municipality (Durban, South Africa), this article reveals the complexities and nuances of these relationship dynamics. Specifically, we identify alternative realities, framed as humane encounters, between waste pickers, residents, the city's Cleansing and Solid Waste Unit (CSW) and among waste pickers themselves. Focusing on the middle-income suburb of Glenwood, we draw on notions of ubuntu to explore how these relationships are forged and sustained in everyday life. Findings reveal that waste pickers build friendships, business partnerships, strategic relationships and networks that enable them to navigate the city, maximise their earnings and cultivate reciprocal relationships with residents and frontline municipal workers. This story matters because accounts of informal waste pickers in South Africa remain incomplete without acknowledging the gestures of love, ethics of care and communal practices that also shape their everyday lives. Read through the lens of ubuntu, these everyday encounters invite a different understanding of waste picker integration, one that is forged through relationships before it is institutionalised through policy and begins, first and foremost, on the ground, human to human.