After nearly two decades spent in finance and private banking, Bulelwa Ntlola expected to return to consulting or hospitality. But those plans changed after a visit back to her Eastern Cape hometown of Dimbaza.
Ntlola was struck by the scale of the problem that waste and its inadequate removal and disposal posed to the community and the environment in which she was born and raised.
“I saw first hand how poverty, unemployment and environmental degradation were intertwined. People felt discouraged and defeated, and everywhere I looked there were open spaces filled with waste.”
This got Ntlola thinking about solutions. She realised short-term ones like clean-up campaigns wouldn’t address the crisis meaningfully.
“People needed a reason to care and, more importantly, see a benefit.”
While in Dimbaza, she encountered young men who had been written off by their communities.
“Many of them were seen as troublemakers or criminals, often called ‘mamparas’... These were young people trapped in cycles of crime, drug use and hopelessness. In the eyes of society, they were outcasts, but I saw something different,” she said.
“They were already digging through dustbins, already engaging with waste, so I thought, what if I could offer them a better alternative? I began encouraging them to collect recyclable materials and exchange them for cash. It was a simple idea, but it brought dignity back into their lives.”
Cleaning is a two-way street
Ntlola founded Rural Roots Waste Services in 2022. The buy-back centre accepts recyclable packaging like PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic bottles and liquid board cartons, offering residents an income for what would otherwise be thrown away. It sorts, cleans and compresses recyclable materials into compact bales, which it then sells to larger recycling companies that process them into new products.
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Petco-2025-1290.jpg "‘The women we work with are proof that resilience and purpose can thrive in the most unexpected places,’ said Bulelwa Ntola. Pictured are Rural Roots employees (from left): Anele Blom, Ntola, Nomaxabiso Philips and Iviwe Apollis. (Photo: Supplied)")
“We wanted to link waste recovery with economic empowerment,” Ntlola said. “People collect recyclables and exchange them for money, which puts food on the table and restores dignity.”
Today, with backing from Petco, Rural Roots collects about eight tons of PET plastic each month. Through clean-ups and awareness campaigns, it has reached more than 1,000 people, from school learners to local businesses.
There’s no doubt that leaving the comforts of well-paid private banking in Sandton, Johannesburg, is not for the faint-hearted.
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Petco-2025-1255.jpg "Rural Roots works with about 60 informal waste pickers at the site, most of whom are older women who arrive daily in search of materials they can sell or reuse. (Photo: Supplied)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Petco-2025-1047.jpg "Bulelwa Ntlola (right) and fellow Rural Roots employee Iviwe Apollis collect recyclables from a municipal buy-back centre in Qonce in May 2025. The recyclables are weighed and payments are made to both the individual vendors and the municipal collection teams. (Photo: Supplied)")
“It’s been tough starting a business in a neglected and underdeveloped province, but it’s also been deeply rewarding,” said Ntlola.
“What keeps me going is the knowledge that every day I get to be part of restoring dignity, creating opportunity and showing young people that it is possible to rise.”
Looking ahead, Ntlola plans to expand into more rural communities, launch mobile recycling units and strengthen partnerships with municipalities, schools and academia.
She aims to train waste pickers, promote sorting at source and encourage micro-enterprises – especially for youth and women interested in starting their own collection points or buy-back centres.
Eventually, Ntlola hopes to move into upcycling, turning PET waste into textiles for reusable shopping bags. DM
This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.
