On Friday I saw two guys arguing over the garbage in my neighbour’s wheelie bin.
“Julle skarrel dan nooit hier nie,” I heard one of them angrily telling the other, while desperately holding down the lid to prevent the man from getting to what’s inside.
It is a sign of our times and one of the saddest sights I have ever witnessed.
Two grown men nearly coming to blows over waste discarded from a household that – in their view – is more privileged than they will ever be.
Scavengers, or bin scratchers as they are known in my area, are as regular as the weekly garbage truck. The times when I have to leave home at 5am, they are already on their rounds, wanting to be the first to rifle through the potential spoils.
It has caused some consternation among my neighbours. They are annoyed that the waste diggers cause a big mess when they search through our wheelie bins, and then don’t bother cleaning up after themselves.
Many say theirs is a legitimate frustration considering that they pay for the municipal service.
Some also complain that the bin scratchers become abusive when confronted and asked to clean up their mess.
Others complain that they are targeted after they check them for causing a mess.
It was already bad the last time I wrote about it, but the situation has only worsened, with most of my neighbours no longer putting their bins out until they can actually hear the truck.
But I think it’s worth reminding ourselves what we are dealing with in these very tough economic times.
Ask yourself: is your once-a-week annoyance more valid than the hunger of a fellow human being? How dehumanising is it to openly scratch through other people’s rubbish just to find something to eat, or that you can sell for some cash?
Our garbage is worth more to them than their own dignity. So much so that they will fight over our scraps while we look on, annoyed at having one of our routines of privilege being upset.
How hungry must you be to stoop to those levels? And then still meet the expectation of cleaning up after yourself.
Just think about when you quickly make a sandwich, because you are supposedly “starving”. You probably stuff your mouth first, before cleaning up after yourself.
So perhaps we could consider separating our rubbish, so they become used to seeing a packet with food or other valuables next to the bin?
Because while one man’s trash is indeed another man’s treasure, I don’t believe humiliation should be part of the equation.
breinou@gmail.com