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Since
local municipal authorities in India are usually unable to adequately
and effectively deliver the different sectoral services for want of
funds, manpower, technology or efficiency in the system, their tasks
are being fulfilled by a huge mass of workers involved in the informal
sector. This sector includes waste pickers, small kabaris (small
middlemen), thiawalas (collectors) and big kabaris (larger middlemen).
How the informal recycling sector is broadly structured:
The informal sector of recycling works like a pyramid [See diagram
below]. The first layer comprises several hundred thousand men, women
and children in urban pockets who mine garbage heaps and bins for
recyclable wastes like plastics, paper and metals. At the second layer
come the small middlemen, often poor themselves, who buy waste from the
rag pickers. They in turn sell the waste to the third layer, comprising
large buyers who own huge godowns. Finally, at the top, devouring all
the labor and materials from below are the actual recyclers themselves.
Most of the city interacts with the first and the second layer, whose
labor actually propels recycling in India. These are also the
repositories of knowledge and information about waste at the local
level, and have no inhibitions caste-based or otherwise about
handling waste. It is precisely for these reasons that Chintan decided
to conduct the study with their participation and involvement.
Read about the Informal Sector in general:
"The Informal Sector" 2004, SIDA (Swedish International Development Agency).
Download PDF
(380kb).
World Bank, "Concept of the Informal Sector". Read the article
HERE
.
Read articles and reports about the informal sector:
Their Work:
Interamerican Development Bank Study on Solid Waste Management, Brasilica, Brasil.
Download Word Document
(100kb)
Recycling programs in partnership with Scavenger Associations as sustainability factor in metropolitan Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Download Word Document
(292kb)
Nature
of the Informal Economy & Three Sectoral Studies, Support for
Policy & Programme Development (SPPD) Project . United Nations
Development Programme & International Labour Organisation. By
HARJIT S. ANAND.
Download PDF
(984kb)
Waste & Citizenship Forums-Achievements and Limitations, by Sonia Maria Dias.
Download PDF
(1.4mb)
Integrating Waste Pickers for Sustainable Recycling, by Sonia Maria Dias.
Download Word Document
(76kb)
Economic Aspects of Informal Sector Activities in Solid Waste Management.
Download PDF
(1.4mb)
Their Health:
Occupational and Environmental Health Issues of Solid Waste Management. Special Emphasis on Middle and Lower Income Countries.
Download PDF
(864kb)
World at work: Brazilian Ragpickers.
Download PDF
(284kb)
Their infrastructure needs
:
Read 'Space for Waste' (Planning for the Informal Recycling Sector), study by Chintan.
Download Word Document
(3.6mb)
As a result of Chintan's previous advocacy work, the National
Environment Plan 2006 insists on the inclusion of the informal sector
and recognition of their legitimate work. See pg 39, pt (e) of the NEP
here
(External link PDF file).
Learn what's happening internationally in the area:
Global scene with regard to the Informal Recycling Sector.
Download Word Document
(44kb)
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