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Blessings Chidakwa Municipal Correspondent
It is 6.30am and I am heading towards OK Huruyadzo bus stop in Chitungwiza to board a bus to Harare. I come across a bed of used drinks cans laid along the tarmac being flattened by vehicles as they pass through.

The two serious men pouring the cans onto the road look on with satisfaction as more cans are flattened by the vehicle, which is just what they want.

They are not littering but are using the traffic as their makeshift crusher to prepare the cans for export to South Africa as scrap metal.

One of the men, who only identified himself as Brian, said he ventured into the business of collecting beverage cans around the town for resale to fend for his family.

A kilogramme of cans fetches $5 from local buyers who resell them for an average R12/kg in South Africa.

Brian said he and his colleagues had  resorted to this method of crushing because of lack of equipment which was limiting the quantities of cans they were delivering.

“We do not have a crushing machine, so we resort to dumping them on roads so that cars run them over,” he said.

The next stage I discovered is hiring a car to do it properly by the roadside.

My less than 30-minute interaction with Brian led me to Ardbernie, on the outskirts of Mbare, where I met Mrs Sylvia Mambodza, who is realising modest income from the                                           business.

After the initial shock of getting a visit from a newspaper had worn off, she welcomed us warmly into her rented business premises, a disused garage directly opposite Ardbernie Primary School.

Mrs Mambodza eagerly narrated her rags to riches story.

She rose from being a mere vendor at Mbare Musika a year ago and is now running a business that is employing about 200 women. She is a typical example of how entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe are making good money out of exporting used cans to South Africa.

With her team, Mrs Mambodza is currently exporting R1,6 million worth of used beverage cans per month.

As we were chatting, a 30-tonne truck with South African registration plates laden to the brim with used cans was preparing to leave for the neighbouring country.

“I was introduced to the business by a friend while selling cement in Mbare. We started moving around collecting used cans in small amounts, but by that time I was in low spirits and doubted whether it was worth it,” she said.

Mrs Mambodza said this, however changed after she sold her first batch of cans to a local supplier.

“I was happy with the money I received and we were encouraged to bring more cans. I started buying from men that move around the city who collect the cans. The majority live near the Mukuvisi River. They might be mistaken for madmen, until one has a chat with them.

“On the way, people started coming with cans to my place in Mbare and the numbers started increasing daily. I used to buy the cans for $6 per kg and resell for R20 in South Africa, but now the market is unstable so the buying price is almost $4 and I resell them at R12,” she said.

Mrs Mambodza said her major challenge was that of crushing the cans.

“Established recycling companies have crushing machines, but with my team we have to do it manually. This entails dumping them on the roads and let passing cars crush them.

“This almost got me into trouble with Mbare Matapi Police, who said the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) was against the practice as it posed a danger to vehicle tyres. I then resorted to hiring a vehicle, which is now doing the crushing on a less busy road,” she said.

“After crushing each bag contains between 200kg and 220kg, so four of them make one tonne.”

The hardworking lady said transport was her other challenge.

“Initially, we used to work with a transporter who had the required documentation, as a group and we were charged per tonne.

“The transporter would do all the paperwork. Our job was to collect the cans, but over time we realised that different types of scrap metal, including aluminium plates and stoves, among others, were in demand, so we decided to go it alone,” she said.

Mrs Mambodza said her business got a major boost after she decided to hire her own trucks, but the challenge has been on obtaining the proper documentation to transport the cans.

“Currently, we rely on those with documentation to transport the cans to South Africa but this eats into our profit. Yesterday (Thursday) a truck left for South Africa. The other one is ready and another is on its way,” she said.

“The average takings from one load is R200 000 and I deliver an average of two loads per week.”

Mrs Mambodza said an additional challenge she faced was the  fluctuating used can prices in South Africa as well as the “unstable” local currency.

“Our suppliers charge their cans per kg using interbank rate yet our selling prices in SA remain the same, but we have never lost hope,” she  said.

Mrs Mambodza also hailed her workmates’ support.

In South Africa the cans are melted into aluminium which in turn is used to make products including aluminium pots and plates.

About 200 metres away from her premises there is another established firm, Recycle Today, that is also excelling in the business.

The company has four crushing machines, which gives it a comparative advantage over Mrs Mambodza and her team.

Officials, however, were not at liberty to talk with the press when our news crew paid them a visit.