Surviving from garbage: the role of informal waste-pickers in a dynamic model of solid-waste management in developing countries

In developing countries, informal waste-pickers (known as scavengers) play an important role in solid waste management systems, acting in a parallel way to formal waste collection and disposal agents. Scavengers collect, from the streets, dumpsites, or landfills, re-usable and recyclable material that can be reincorporated into the economy's production process. Despite the benefits that they generate to society, waste-pickers are ignored when waste management policies are formulated. The purpose of this paper is to integrate the role of scavengers in a dynamic model of production, consumption, and recovery, and to show that, in an economy producing solid waste, efficiency can be reached using a set of specific and complementary policies: a tax on virgin materials use, a tax on consumption and disposal, and a subsidy to the recovery of material. A numerical simulation is performed to evaluate the impact of these policies on landfill lifetime and natural resource stocks. A discussion on the implementation of these instruments is also included.

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Willingness to Pay for Improved Household Solid Waste Collection in Blantyre, Malawi

Economies ◽

10.3390/economies6040054 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 54 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Hanke Ndau ◽

Elizabeth Tilley

Keyword(s):

Waste Management ◽

Willingness To Pay ◽

Solid Waste ◽

Solid Waste Management ◽

Pilot Scale ◽

Environmental Perceptions ◽

Waste Collection ◽

Solid Waste Collection ◽

The Impact ◽

Minute Walk

Insufficient staff, inappropriate collection vehicles, limited operating budgets and growing, hard to reach populations mean that solid waste management remains limited in most developing countries; Malawi is no exception. We estimated the willingness to pay (WTP) for two hypothetical solid waste collection services. Additionally, we tested the impact of the WTP question positioning relative to environmental perceptions on respondents’ WTP. The first scenario involved a five minute walk to a disposal facility; the second scenario involved a 30 min walk. Additionally, the order of the question was randomized within the questionnaire. A WTP value of K1780 was found for the five minute walk scenario when the question was placed first, and K2138 when placed after revealing the respondent’s perceptions on the environment. In the 30 min walk scenario, WTP was K945 when placed first and K1139 when placed after revealing the respondent’s perceptions on the environment. The estimated values indicate that there is both a willingness to pay for solid waste services and that there are at least two options that would be acceptable to the community; a pilot scale implementation would be required to validate the hypothetical values, especially given the dependency on problem framing. Community financing should be considered as a sustainable approach to solid waste management in underserved areas.

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Environmental Management in cities: A Perspective from the Akure Solid Waste Management Authority, Ondo State, Nigeria.

Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal ◽

10.14738/assrj.84.9929 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 6-18

Author(s):

S. E. Okosun ◽

A. O. Omodehin ◽

I. S. Ajayi

Keyword(s):

Environmental Management ◽

Waste Management ◽

Solid Waste ◽

Solid Waste Management ◽

Waste Collection ◽

Solid Waste Collection ◽

The Core ◽

Ondo State ◽

Collection And Management

Management of wastes which is a part of the daily activities of man is an important aspect of environmental management. Over the years, there have been concerted efforts made towards adequately solving the problems created by improper waste management and disposal in Nigeria cities. This study, appraises environmental management in cities; a perspective from the Ondo state Waste Management Authority (OSWMA) Akure. The broad objectives of this study are to identify types of wastes managed by OSWMA, describe the attitude and role of residents (household) toward solid waste management, and examine the possible constraints faced by OSWMA, Akure in the discharge of their duties. Samples were drawn from the total number of OSWMA staff and clients served by the authority in the core, transition and peripheral districts of Akure. 53 questionnaires were administered to the staff representing 10% of the total number of staff while 324 questionnaires representing 1% of residents were administered, collated and analyzed using SPSS version 19. The results of the analysis, revealed that majority (81.1%) of the staff respondents opined that the type of waste managed by the Authority is solid waste; using the door to door method of solid waste collection as submitted by 54.5% of the staff. On the other hand, majority of the households’ respondents (81.4%) expressed willingness to pay for service rendered by the authority. Findings also revealed that poor funding was the main constraints faced by the authority. The study therefore recommends proper funding, provision of equipment and facilities needed for smooth running of the authority in order to ensure effective collection and management of waste in the study area.

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Role of Psychosocial Factors in Effective Design of Solid Waste Management Programmes: Evidence from India

Environment and Urbanization Asia ◽

10.1177/0975425320938518 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 266-280

Author(s):

Vidya Pratap ◽

Maurya Dayashankar ◽

Seena Biju

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Waste Management ◽

Solid Waste ◽

Psychosocial Factors ◽

Solid Waste Management ◽

Behavioural Change ◽

Household Waste ◽

National Programme ◽

Waste Segregation

The critical need for behavioural change for effective solid waste management is well known. However, policies and programmes continue to underemphasize this crucial component in their design, especially in developing countries such as India. Further, empirical research on the psychosocial factors in solid waste management in developing countries is limited, including within India, where a large national programme for solid waste management is currently being implemented. Using a household survey based on the theory of planned behavioural change, we examine the psychosocial factors towards household waste segregation. We find that more than knowledge and attitude, consequences to behaviour play a critical role in intention as well as actual behaviour towards household waste segregation. Based on our findings, we draw implications for redesigning the national programme and contribute to empirical evidence on the role of psychosocial factors in solid waste management in the context of developing countries.

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Integrated Waste Management

Handbook of Research on Developing Sustainable Value in Economics, Finance, and Marketing - Advances in Finance, Accounting, and Economics ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-6635-1.ch008 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 125-140 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Günay Kocasoy

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Waste Management ◽

Solid Waste ◽

Population Change ◽

Solid Waste Management ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Solid Wastes ◽

The World ◽

Integrated Waste Management ◽

Management Policies

Handling of solid waste has been a serious problem for countries all over the world. Increase in population, change in life standard and life style, industrialization and production of new products contribute to the increase in the amount of solid wastes and consequently the problems generated by them. Developed countries, being aware of the significance of the problems, established regulatory programs, while economically developing countries continued to handle the solid wastes in a very primitive way, such as dumping them into “open dumps.” In these countries recycling activities are mostly carried on by scavengers in a very primitive way. For the protection of the environment and sustainable development, economically developing countries should establish solid waste management policies, plan recycling programs and publish related regulations and by-laws, and strictly control the application of them. This is explored in this chapter.

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Development of a sustainable and inclusive solid waste management system in Colombia

10.32920/ryerson.14651859.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jessica Edmonds

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Waste Management ◽

Solid Waste ◽

Solid Waste Management ◽

Main Concern ◽

Waste Collection ◽

Case Study Approach ◽

Informal Recycling ◽

Study Approach

Managing solid waste is a pressing environmental issue worldwide. This is especially observed in developing countries, where the main concern is to provide the service of waste collection, usually lacking a formal recycling program. Instead, recycling is often conducted by an informal sector composed of recyclers-by-trade. What has been found is that the current informal recycling sector - if approached differently - can offer a financially viable and an environmentally and culturally sound solution. A case study approach was chosen and questionnaires were conducted with recyclers-by-trade and dealers in Cali, Colombia. An interview was conducted with the President of the Recyclers' Association of Bogotá, Colombia. A normative system is proposed as an alternative context-based solution in developing countries that focuses on the inclusion of organized recyclers-by-trade into the formal solid waste management in order to increase recycling rates, extend the lifespan of landfills and improve the living and working conditions of this informal recycling sector.

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Impact of Solid Waste Management on Rural Development in Lebanon Advantages and Disadvantages Case Study: Ain Baal Project (Tyre caza)

International Business & Economics Studies ◽

10.22158/ibes.v3n4p40 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. p40

Author(s):

DR. Ali KASSEM

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Rural Development ◽

Waste Management ◽

Solid Waste ◽

Solid Waste Management ◽

Development Programs ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

University Degree ◽

The Impact

Solid waste is a global, regional and national problem. Lebanon is not isolated and far away from this problem. Lebanese state since the beginning did not work to find a scientific effective permanent lasting solution to this problem. Every day all media broadcast about solid waste problems, especially in the region of Sidon and Tyre caza. The file of solid waste management (collecting-transporting-disposal) is exhausting municipalities’ financial resources instead of investing these funds in implementing rural development programs, which TYRE caza fiercely needs. Development represents the most challenging aspect for all countries of the world, whether they are developed or developing countries. In addition, development in its concept and application, whether it was sustainable development, local, rural, urban, became the focal attention of states governments alike, whether those countries are developed or developing countries. For that purpose, those countries have established ministries and research centers to take care of development and even to add university degree related to development.Lebanon has not follow this track, neither in the formulation of designed ministry for development nor in the adding of university specialized degree, also the academic literature, who deals in the subject of development. “Limited number of institutions involved in rural development such as , the establishment of kafalat cooperation, a new investment law that establish the autonomous investment development authority of Lebanon (IDAL), the provision of subsidized credit through a central bank facility, signing trade agreements to expand and liberalize trade with Lebanon’s partners” E/ESCWA/2007/WG.5 26OCTOBER 2007.The research will focus on the concepts of rural development, rural area, analyze the impact of expenditure on solid waste on rural development in TYRE caza.

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Abfallsammlung in Buenos Aires

PROKLA Zeitschrift für kritische Sozialwissenschaft ◽

10.32387/prokla.v44i176.159 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 44 (176) ◽

Author(s):

Regina Hemetsberger

Keyword(s):

Waste Management ◽

Solid Waste ◽

Buenos Aires ◽

Solid Waste Management ◽

Social Actors ◽

Integrated Solid Waste Management ◽

Historical Perspectives ◽

Public Pressure ◽

The Impact ◽

Waste Pickers

With the collapse of the Argentine economy in the late 1990s between 20.000 and 25.000 persons in Buenos Aires got involved with informal waste picking. When public pressure became too strong in 2001, the municipal and national government started to work on a plan for the implementation of an integrated solid waste management, in which private waste enterprises and waste pickers’ cooperatives shall collaborate in order to improve the city‘s recycling activities. With the new model, however, the waste pickers themselves were also taken into account as new social actors. Considering the importance of formality and informality, this paper analyses the design of the bonaerense model for in - tegrated solid waste management. First, economic-historical perspectives of theoretical con - cepts of formality and informality are discussed, followed by a review of the developments in the waste sector since 2001. Finally, light is thrown on the impact and scope of formality and informality for the integration of informal waste pickers.

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