The openness of landfill sites provides free access to waste pickers to sort valuable items for
sales. Waste pickers work under no clear control and do not follow any safety and health
regulations. Waste collection workers also pick out wastes of value en route to the landfills
and sell them to middlemen. The major wastes picked are plastics (e.g. jerry cans, bottles,
plates, and basins) and paper and cardboard. Formalisation of waste pickers groups can
make them more effective, make them follow health and safety regulations and protect them
against exploitation. Achankeng (2003) argues that as the waste pickers get more organised