Exploring the link between waste governance structures and livelihood options for urban waste pickers

Abstract

Megacities in the Global South are experiencing a rapid accumulation of waste, accelerated by increasing population growth coupled with consumption patterns. In spite of this, in India waste is still a highly neglected public service in the hands of the local government. The workers that contribute to keeping the cities clean are often part of a large informal sector. Previous studies on informal waste workers focus mainly on the question of their integration into the formal solid waste management (SWM) system. This thesis adopts a different approach that links the policy framework and institutional arrangements between SWM stakeholders to the livelihoods of waste pickers in Bengaluru. A multitude of different stakeholders shape the solid waste management landscape of Bengaluru, which has one the highest accumulations of waste as well as a large informal sector. In order to understand how the livelihood options of waste workers are impacted by governance structures of SWM, a qualitative analysis (policy analysis, media analysis and semi-structured inter-views) was conducted. While the policy and the media analysis provided an understanding of how SWM-related policies at various levels and news items represent waste workers, the interviews generated information on the practical experiences and perceptions of stakeholders working together with waste pickers. The combination of these methodological approaches found that in the fast-changing solid waste management system in Bengaluru, source segregation and decentralised waste management are to play a growing role. The existing policy that allows waste pickers, if they are part of a formally recognised organisation, to operate decentralised facilities of recyclable waste, have a two-folded effect for waste pickers. Waste pickers that affiliate to non-governmental or community-based organisations and are willing to become part of a team, have the possibility to work in a professional environment, often meaning they grow out of miserable working conditions. The researcher pinpoints to highly vulnerable waste pickers, who are more likely to be excluded from such upgraded livelihood options. The local media displays the variety of hardships that waste pickers face, as well as the multitude of “new” work modalities, such as working in a ward-level establishment. Therefore, this research emphasises the need of understanding their individual needs, rather than viewing them as a homogeneous group. In the future waste pickers’ precarity will depend on the municipality’s willingness to create a supportive environment, involve them in future outsourcing decisions and leverage their skills and knowledge on waste materials and the recycling market: becoming strong partners of the city to achieve a clean environment.