Finding Wealth in Waste: The Changing Role of Informal Sector in Solid Waste Management

8/12/2019 Finding Wealth in Waste: The Changing Role of Informal Sector in Solid Waste Management

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Finding Wealth in Waste: The Changing Role of

Informal Sector in Solid Waste ManagementBishwodev Bhattarai (06!MS"!#0$%& Ree'a achheth) (06!MS"!#*#%& Sharada +o)del 06!MS"!#*$%&

S)nil Sha,-a (06!MS"!#*.%

Department of Urban Planning, Institute of Engineering, Tribhuwan University

Pulchowk, Lalitpur, Nepal

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

Abstract

Informal Waste Workers in Kathmandu, have been immensely contributing to wastemanagement. Informal waste pickers contribute significantly to waste management and

resource efficiency by collecting, sorting, trading and sometimes even processing waste

materials. These kind of activities provide income opportunity for large numbers of people with

low income. The paper studies how informal sector has redefined solid waste management as

business opportunity. All informal valorisation activities along the entire value chain are

profitable. Informal valorisation businesses only extract, process, and sell those materials that

have a high intrinsic value and on which they can make a profit. Informal waste workers are

not much attracted towards regular work as they dont want to work for others !"oss of his

own#$ which is the ma%or reason for informal sector not going towards the formal sector.

Keywords & Informal Waste workers, entrepreneurship, solid waste management

I/ ITR12"CTI1

3s a develo4ing co)ntr-& e4al has man- iss)es to deal with/

1ne of the ma'or iss)e is solid waste management/ There is no4ro4er infrastr)ct)re and organi5ation s-stem for waste

management/ Solid waste management has een ,e4t a low4riorit- mainl- eca)se the demand is higher for other 4)lic

services in man- m)nici4alities in e4al/ In the ca4ital cit- aswell& there is no management at all )t a lot of waste

generation is ca)sing a lot of environment 4oll)tion/

7athmand) 8alle- generates a44ro9imatel- $; tons of solidwaste dail-/ The cost of waste management e9ceeds Rs/* of the waste

is not collected/

Informal Waste Wor,ers in 7athmand)& have een immensel-

contri)ting to waste management/ If there were no informalsector& it wo)ld have een ver- hard to manage as there is a

lot of generation of Solid waste in 7athmand)/ Some decadesago& the waste content was mostl- organic and it was locall-

dis4osed as it was eas- and co)ld e )sed as man)re in theagric)lt)ral land/ B)t now a da-s& moderni5ation has ,ic,ed in

and the waste content has een changing and more inorganicwaste is generated which is hard to dis4ose/ 3s )rani5ation is

ra4idl- growing& the solid waste has to e dis4osed far awa-from the cit- which is ver- inefficient/ The dis4ose site is ver-

far so trans4ortation cost is ver- high/ Informal waste wor,ershave een hel4ing a lot in the field of solid waste management

as the- have red)ced the content of waste/

3o)t $ decades ago& there was no solid waste management in

e4al/ ?ater on @TA s)44orted for the solid waste

management - 4roviding ig containers in different 4art of

7athmand) for collecting the waste and Te,) Transfer stationwas estalished/ The m)nici4alit- 4rovided collection wor,ers

who segregated the waste and sorted rec-cling waste andorganic waste/ The remains were ta,en for landfilling/ 3fter

*0s revol)tion& vario)s Trade "nions formed and different4rotest egan which res)lted the sh)tdown of the entire

4rocess of collection and segregation and the waste wor,ersno longer wor,ed at Te,)/ 3fter that& the management was

hard to handle as a lot of m)nici4alit- )dget were s4ent insolid waste management/ The- collected the waste as the-
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)sed to )t the- directl- too, the waste witho)t segregation to

the landfill site and d)m4ed it which ca)sed more )dget formanaging/ Its alread- een more than *; -ears doing this/

B)t now a da-s the m)nici4alit- has engaged @1s anddifferent 4rivate sectors for managing the solid waste all over

the valle-/ The @1s then engage informal waste wor,ersand the- collect waste from ho)seholds and in etween the-

segregate and ta,e what the- want and then ta,e the remainingto the landfill site or the transfer station/ Te,) transfer station

ta,es Rs/ *


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small and micro=enter4rises that intervene in waste

management witho)t eing registered and witho)t eingformall- charged with 4roviding waste management services/

This sector is often not officiall- recogni5ed andac,nowledged& -et its memers contri)te significantl- to the

waste management of 7athmand) valle-& - collecting&sorting& 4rocessing& storing and trading waste materials in the

rec-cling val)e chain/ "rani5ation in e4al is increasing atan alarming rate& from =*.> in the last ; decades/ 2)e to the

lac, of a44ro4riate em4lo-ment o44ort)nities& a large n)merof wor,ers in the informal econom- are engaged in waste=

related wor,/In 7athmand) 8alle-& there are *;&000 waste4ic,ers and .00=


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3mong the man- government odies and legal instit)tions to

tac,le waste=related iss)es in the co)ntr- are Solid WasteManagement Board (*


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Red)ce )l, dis4osal/

Effective recover- of rec-clales/

@enerating income from waste/

Red)ction of ris, to )man ealth J Environment/

Economicall- viale& sociall- desirale J

environmentall- cond)cive/

-+ 1ase of Egypt

Eg-4t has the worlds most well=estalished and ro)stinformal rec-cling s-stems/There are a lot of informal wastewor,ers in Eg-4t who are thriving economicall- ande9tending across the entire co)ntr-/ The waste collectors sort

and rec-cle aro)nd of the waste generated/ There is a formation of a

diversified networ, of collecting and rec-cling activities/Besides the waste collectors& roamers )-& trade and e9change

rec-clale waste items as well/ In this informal waste s-stem

intermediar- )-ers and wholesale merchants are alsoinvolved/ B- this& trading and man)fact)ring networ,s have

also grown to cover the whole co)ntr-/ The ind)str- has

s4awned its own dealers& its own centres of 4rod)ction andrec-cling& and its own )siness c)lt)re of credit& trade and

finance/ 3fter the 4rivati5ation of waste collection anddis4osal& international and local 4rivate enter4rises ecame

res4onsile for the collection& rec-cling and dis4osal of wasteand the waste wor,ers lost access to their main so)rce of

income/ +rivate enter4rise attem4ts to engage informal sectorwor,ers as waste collectors in com4anies have not een ver-

s)ccessf)l eca)se the ma'orit- of wor,ers leave after a shorttime and it seems as if the 4rivati5ation of waste collection

services has hindered informal sector integration in wastemanagement in Eg-4t/

In Cairo& the largest gro)4 of informal wor,ers are informalwaste collectors (2abbaleen%/ The- cover .*> of the informal

sector occ)4ations/ 2ifferent @1s and civil societ-

organisations are tr-ing to 4romote the informal sector andmaintain o4en channels of comm)nication etween the

informal waste wor,ers and formal sta,eholders/

Total n)mer of livelihoods in informal waste sector in Cairois &000 and total em4lo-ment in the formal waste sector is


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There is now e9tensive e94erience of informal sector (related

to waste management% organi5ing and estalishing formalrelationshi4s with m)nici4al and national governments/ This

transformation 4resents new choices and o44ort)nities& and4rovides lessons and 4ointers for ind)strial& social and

environmental 4olic- in the new 4ost=ind)strial landsca4e/The drivers of a change are:

@rowing concern ao)t the ha5ards of waste dis4osal

Broader environmental concerns& es4eciall- gloal warmingand reso)rce de4letion

Economic o44ort)nities created - new waste reg)lations and

technological innovation/

Development of Entrepreneurship

The 4ioneering efforts of entre4rene)rs have contri)ted in

the economic develo4ment of the nation/ The informal sectoris s)ccess in develo4ing the entre4rene)rshi4 with the

M)nici4al @overnment& 1@s and other organi5ations/

The 4rivate entre4rene)rs have een act)all- 4la-ingdominate role in all sectors of the econom-/ The government&

ca4italist s-stem is controlling all economic activities and4erforms entre4rene)rial role in most sectors incl)ding

informal sectors/ The rief e9amines on the informal sectorsinvolving in solid waste on 7athmand)& im4ediments to s,ills

)4grading in the informal econom-: ranging from lac, of

4olic- coherence at informal sector and wor,ers wor,ing on

it& instit)tional wea,nesses in training 4roviders at the microlevel (develo4ment of s,ill in waste management%/ These

highlights a range of 4olic- innovations o4ened )4 to entr-4oints for integration with the mainstream econom-/ These

incl)de strengthening the ca4acit- of e9isting service4roviders to reach the informal econom-D recogni5ing s,ills

gained in the informal econom-D 4olic- coherence etweenh)man reso)rce 4olicies and other macro=4olicies to ens)re

etter alignment of s)44l- and demandD as well as im4rovingthe )alit-& deliver- and relevance of s,ills to meet the needs

of those c)rrentl- in the informal econom-/

S,ills training and informalit-

Wea, 4olic- coherence with h)man reso)rce 4olicies

Wea,ness in e9isting 4roviders ca4acit- to address the needsof the informal econom-

K @1s

K +rivate Sector Training 4roviders

K Informal 344renticeshi4 s-stems

The mismatch etween s)44l- and demand: the relevance of

training

?ac, of access to training

Ina44ro4riate training deliver-

E9cl)sion of v)lnerale gro)4s of women

?ac, of recognition of s,ills in the informal econom-

The )4grading s,ills offer immediate enefits to wor,ers andentre4rene)rs in the informal econom- while also s)44orts

medi)m term strategies for moving o)t of informalit-/

eglecting the large sections of the 4o4)lation wor,ing insit)ations of informalit- is neglected tho)gh& the most of the

economic activities is covered - the informal sector& the

training are often oriented to the formal econom-/ 3 variet-of financial and non=financial arriers im4ede access to s,ills

develo4ment for those in the informal econom-/ S,illstraining can e 4art of a roader 4ac,age of incentives to

s)44ort the move o)t informalit-

The entre4rene)rial ca4acities of informal sector wor,ers andorgani5ations are an im4ortant factor in the s)stainailit- of

informal sector intervention/ 3ctivities s)44orting informalsector integration incl)de facilitating credit& s,ills

develo4ment and im4rovements in managerial ,now=how andmar,eting to enhance the com4etitiveness of laor=intensive

small=scale activities/

The case of +hili44ines& @TA and the cit- co)ncil of Iloilo

s)44orted a gro)4 of former waste 4ic,ers at the dis4osal siteto organi5e and manage a sorting center at the d)m4site to sort

o)t rec-clales/ The wor,ers& )nder s)4ervision form am)nici4al engineer& now arrive at o4erating a sorting center

with mechani5ed e)i4ment li,e conve-or elts& dr)m sieve

etc/ The gro)4 has elected leaders that s)4ervise the teamwor, within the coo4erative/ The gro)4 also initiated new

activities li,e com4osting and sorting o)t alternative f)el

reso)rces for co=4rocessing in cement 4lants/ B)t in order tocond)ct these new activities com4letel- witho)t s)44ort from

the m)nici4al a)thorities& additional trainings on financialmanagement& mar,eting etc/ seemed necessar- and have

recentl- een 4rovided to gro)4 memers/

I8/ MET12S

Involvement of Informal Waste Wor,er (IWW% in Solid

Waste Management of 7athmand) valle- has ecome a wa-of waste management/ "nli,e other develo4ed world& e4al


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and man- other develo4ing co)ntries have ado4ted the same

wa- of waste management/ In most of the co)ntries incl)dinge4al& IWW have started forming organi5ation and networ,s

for their 4rofessional safet- and sec)rit- L6/ The st)d- wascond)cted how IWW are f)nctioning in 7athmand) 8alle-

and how the- are wor,ing to ens)re their 4rofessional andorgani5ational safet-/ There are more than *;000 IWW within

7athmand) 8alle- L and there is significant contri)tion ofIWW in "ran Waste Management/ Basicall-& the- are

ma,ing mone- o)t of waste and at once managing waste of)ran area/

To find how act)all- IWWs involvement in SWM and theirroles& f)nctions& social ehaviors& 4rolems and o44ort)nities

were st)died and we ado4ted mi9ed method for this/ +RISM(+overt- Red)ction of Informal Wor,er in Solid Waste

Management% 4ro'ect was also st)died to find o)t thef)nctioning of IWW in SWM and economics of Waste/

Interview with 2oor to 2oor (2=t=2% waste collector& Feria(7awadi%& Scra4 1wner (7awadi 1wner% and 1fficial of

IWWs Co=o4erative was cond)cted to find o)t how the- are

wor,ing& how the- are wor,ing& where the- are from andwhere the- live& where the- wor,& how is their economic andsocial stat)s& change in their livelihood/ 3lso& we tried to find

o)t their own wa- of loo,ing towards this 4rofession and 'osatisfaction/

There is different level of IWW and st)d- of each level isessential to )nderstand their res4ective role in SWM and

informal econom-/ Interview with 2=t=2 collector was maded)ring morning time as their wor,ing time is from 6am =**

am whereas interview with waste 4ic,ers& feria& scra4 ownerand co=o4erative official was done d)ring da- time/ o

)estionnaire was 4re4ared and interviews were recorded for

convenience/ Site visit and interviews were facilitated -+RISM +ro'ect and sam4les were identified IWW of +RISM4ro'ect who were also eneficiaries of +RISM +ro'ect/ It was

convenient for st)d- team to interview with them eca)se

)n,nown IWW were s)44osed to ignore o)r res4onse/ The+ro'ect had hel4ed to change stat)s of IWW in vario)s wa-s

so& we co)ld easil- trace what we were loo,ing for/

3/ Limitations

Sam4le si5e collected in ver- less in com4ared to total

identified waste wor,er in the 8alle-/ 1)t of total identified.60. waste wor,ers& interviews were cond)cted with onl- are

e4ali nationals whereas remaining $0> are Indian

and > of total IWW are females and children/

Ma'orit- of IWW are 7athmand) M)nici4alit-

ased/ The involvement of IWW can e seen vitalfrom the 4rocess of collection to dis4osal/ Besides

few m)nici4al wor,ers& more than ;> of the

wor,er in SWM are informal/ IWW from e4al are

mostl- indigeno)s 4eo4le li,e Rai& ?im)& Tamang&

etc/ and most of these wor,ers resides in informal

settlement (S)atter Settlement%/ IWW are involved

in collection of waste& sorting of waste& )-ing

scra4s and selling scavenges/ Individ)al IWW sell

their waste to small scra4 dealer and small scra4

dealer f)rther sell them to ig dealer with

intermediate commission/ Big dealer directl- sellrec-clale and re)sale scra4s to rec-cler in ig

)antit-/

C/ Problems of I""

+rolems of IWW is not significantl- different from otherinformal sector/ Some of common 4rolem identified were&

.+ 5ob ecurity

?ac, of recognition of informal sector - a)thori5ed agencies

and not eing 4rotected with legal chain& IS are alwa-s inthreat of losing their 'o/ Being formal de4icts eing

4rotected/

-+ 4ealth 3isk

"nli,e other informal sector IWW are )nder high health ris,/

The eneficiaries of +RISM 4ro'ect are )nder facilitation of

;0> disco)nt in os4itals of 7athmand) valle- - whichtheir access to health service have increased significantl-/

/+ 0ccess to Public ervices an! 6asic 7acilities

3ltho)gh IWW have significant role in )ran environment

management& their access to asic 4)lic services andfacilities are e-ond ca4acit-/ +oor economic ca4acit- and

asence of saving hait co)ld e the ma'or reason ehind this/Most of IWW lac,s 4ro4er ho)sing J services and their

children lac,s 4ro4er ed)cation/ +RISM 4ro'ect have4la-ed affirmative role in creating their access to 4)lic

services and facilities/

8+ ocial 0cceptance an! ecurity

IWW are regarded rdclass citi5en of )ran area and still

societ- is not read- to give them identit- and recognition/Informal wor,ers are also ta,en as threat to )ran sec)rit-and the conventional role of IWW is seen )ndesirale/

2/ Issues of I""

.+ Location of "aste 1enter in #i!st of 1ity

Estalishment of Te,) Transfer Station and acc)m)lationof ma'orit- of Scra4 center in its 4eri4her- is seen as ma'or

iss)e it that area/ Te,) was s)44osed to e )ran fringe decade ac, )t toda- it is a 4art of )ran core/ ot onl-

Te,)& most of the scra4 and waste collection center are in themidst of settlement and )ran dweller doesnt feel

comfortale in its 4resence/ Relocation of these scra4 andwaste collection center o)t the town has asicall- two

4rolem& the first is financial viailit-& and ne9t is availailit-

of land/

-+ 6eing Informal

Recognition of IWW is ma'or iss)e in SWM/ M)nici4alit-

have een investing ma'or reso)rce in SWM )t the act)alwor,er who are informal still lac,s identit-/ @overnment

s4ea,s a lot in terms of SWM and incl)ded SWM in its actsand 4olicies )t we cannot find those acts and 4olicies

So)rce: +RISM +ro'ect St)d-& #0*

So)rce: +RISM +ro'ect St)d-*


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addressing Informal Sector/ IWW th)s are not o)nded in

legal criterion and ma,ing them formal is ma'or iss)e to edealt

@overnment cond)ct training and s)sid- with/ Most of the

IWW are str)ggling for s)staining life& so there might e a)estion of their ca4ailit- eing formal/ @overnment doesnt

directl- invest and tend to 4rotect informal sector/ 3ltho)gh&

some of the international donor agencies have la)nched4ro'ects and 4rogram to address 4rolem of informal sector/

+RISM is an e9am4le of s)ch 4ro'ect which is wor,ing for thewelfare of IWW and it has achieved a lot to im4rove their

overall condition and also created a wa- towardsformali5ation/

E/ 9pportunities in "#

The most im4ortant 4art of o)r st)d- finding o44ort)nities in

SWM/ More than *;000 IWW are directl- and indirectl-involved in SWM sector and +RISM 4ro'ect have identified

.60. IWW f)ll time involved/ Involvement of this

considerale n)mer of IWW indicates o44ort)nit- in SWM/

+eo4le are searching wealth o)t or those discard/ There is4o4)lar sa-ing Fohar Bata Mohor means& ma,e mone- o)t

of waste/ 2)ring o)r st)d-& all the interviewee were fo)nd

satisfied with their 'o and ha44- to e involved in this sector/

The income of Interviewee Mr/ +)rna Man Tamang who is 2=t=2 waste collector is more than twent- five tho)sand a month

incl)ding his reg)lar salar- of Rs/ of total scra4 are

rec-cled in e4al and remaining $.> of the waste aree94orted to India L*0/ Recentl- in #0*0& Mo" was signed

etween an Indian Com4an- and @o regarding estalishinglarge scaled rec-cle 4lant in 7athmand) valle- L**/

o. )aterial (rice !per kg$+lastic Rs/ .

+et ottle Rs/ ;

Clothes Rs/

Cartoon Rs/ ;

Steel Rs/ #;

3l)min)m Rs/ *#0

Beer ottle (4er 4iece% Rs/ #

Bro,en @lass Rs/ *

Brass Rs/ $$0

Co44er Rs/ ;00

Tin Rs/ *;


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+ompost (lant

Is has een alwa-s a hot iss)e that we can ma,e io=fertili5er!

Com4ost o)t of organic waste )t never een e94erienced inconsiderale scale/ 2)ring o)r st)d-& e9ce4t in ho)sehold

level we co)ldnt find com4ost 4lant/ WE+C1 is ma,ing

com4ost in organi5ational asis which collects ;00,g ororganic waste dail- and ma,e com4ost o)t of it/ Few other@1 are engaged in ma,ing com4ost fertili5er/

There is still lac, of com4ost 4lant in 7athmand) 8alle- andthere lies h)ge o44ort)nit- in generating mone- from

com4osting/ M)nici4al waste in 7athmand) valle- com4risesof .0> organic matter and 0> non=organic L*#/ of

non=organic wastes are rec-clale and nearl- same 4ercentageare eing collected and rec-cled/ .0> of the organic waste if

treated in a com4ost 4lant can generate h)ge mone-/ IWW areconsidered as chea4 lao)r and can e )tili5ed in com4osting/

F/ 1hanging 3ole of I""

This is the most interesting and diffic)lt 4art of st)d-/

3ssessing change in role of solid waste wor,er is not an eas-tas, and st)d- carried in short time frame is not s)44osed to

answer this )estion/ 3ltho)gh& o)r st)d- fo)nd shift of

4)lic 4erce4tion or viewing IWW from waste collector to)ran waste manager/ Waste wor,er were treated as ')st

cleaner or waste collector and the wor, of IWW was lower

grade wor,/ Interview cond)cted with IWW revealed the factthat& there is significant change in 4)lic 4erce4tion towards

IWW in recent -ears/ $000 IWW are well e)i44ed withsafet- e)i4ments and dress 4rovided - +RISM +ro'ect

which have inserted dee4 feeling of 4rofessionalism in IWW/

+eo4le have started recogni5ing them as solid waste managerof the cit-/ Solid waste management is one of the )rningiss)e of 7athmand) and slowl-& role of IWW is gaining

im4ortance/

?et )s ')st imagine 7athmand) 8alle- witho)t IWW& what

co)ld e the sceneO Th)s the role of IWW in SWM isinevitale/ IWW are not ')st managing waste of valle- )t

also generating mone-/ The- are 4la-ing vital role inenvironment c-cle and 4reserving nat)re as well and at mean

time 4roviding raw materials in rec-cle ind)str-/

IWW are grad)all- getting )nited and forming welfare gro)4/

"nder assistance of +RISM 4ro'ect& an @1 has eenestalished with leadershi4 of IWW named :amyukta afai

5agaran;and more than *;00 informal waste wor,er are itsmemer/ It has its own co=o4erative where more than 600

waste wor,er have started de4ositing their saving and then)mer in increasing/ 1)r st)d- fo)nd that there are ; IWW

wor,ing gro)4s with in 7athmand) valle- formed )nder+RISM 4ro'ect/ This gro)4 are formed to ens)re their social

and 4rofessional sec)rit-/

@/ "ay towar!s 7ormali'ation

one of the concerned agencies are interested to formali5eIWW/ Formali5ation of IWW means earing e9tra )rden

which is also not acce4tale - IWW itself/ Their income is

ver- less and mone- the- earn comes o)t from ver- hardlao)r/ If one visit to waste d)m4ing site& the- ma- reali5e

wor,ing in waste is the hardest 'o ever e9isted/ With severe

health and safet- ris,s& IWW wor, all da- long to acc)m)latemone- to feed themselves and their children/ +a-ing ta9 is one

wa- of formali5ation )t mere ta9 4a-ment wont ens)re theirformali5ation/ Formali5ation sho)ld ring their Ho Sec)rit-&

Social sec)rit- and 4rofessional recognition - government/

Initiative from +RISM 4ro'ect has set notale e9am4le in

4overt- red)ction of IWW/ With s)r4l)s savings& most of the

IWW are read- to 4a- ta9 )t at the same time the- are indilemma ao)t ret)rn the- get from government/ +RISM

4ro'ect )nder its initiative have registered . scra4 center as

+rivate ?imited Com4an- )nder 1ffice of Com4an- Registrar/Most of the 2=t=2 IWW are 4a-ing ta9 to social sec)rit- f)nd

)t are the- reall- getting ac, for their social sec)rit-O Mostof the waste entre4rene)r are have +ersonal 3cco)nt )mer

(+3% and 4a-s ta9 in some wa-s )t the em4lo-ee the-

engage are totall- informal/

Wor, of +RISM 4ro'ect ma- not e oriented to formali5eIWW )t it might e leading ste4 for formali5ation/

@overnment recognition of IWW and mass 4)lic awareness

is needed so that wor, of IWW co)ld e mar,ed as good 'o/2)ring o)r field st)d-& we fo)nd willingness of IWW to get

formali5e )t not all IWW wants so/ The- are )naware of the

enefits eing formal/ 1ne of the 4rolem we saw informali5ation of IWW is involvement of $0> Indian IWW/

1nce all IWW get formali5e& Indian national comes )nderinternational wor,er& so addressing them co)ld e another

challenge/

8I/C1C?"SI1

Informal waste wor,er are waste manager of 7athmand)valle- and their role is vital in )ran waste management/

There is significant n)mer of IWW of which $0> are Indianational/ Involvement of significant n)mer of international

laor in the SWM 4)ts challenge in formali5ation of IWW/3ltho)gh& the- are not recogni5ed - government sector& their

will to get formali5e doesnt ma,e sense/ Informal sector isma'or contri)tor in m)nici4al waste management as a res)lt

of which more than .000 IWW are directl- involved in this

Fig: Scra4 Waste flow in 7athmand) 8alle-/ e4al(So)rce: i44on 7oie& #00;%


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sector/ The reason ehind the attraction in this sector is

economic o44ort)nit-/ IWW are ma,ing nice amo)nt ofmone- from waste management and most of the wor,er are

illiterate for whom finding 'o in other sector is diffic)lt/ Thiswor, doesnt re)ire s,ill as a res)lt& all )ns,illed famil-

memers are involved in waste )siness/ Increasing n)merof IWW in SWM shows that there is some hidden attraction in

this sector/ +eo4le are searching mone- from waste/ 3lmost of m)nici4al waste can e reso)rce and IWW are doing

the same/ The collected scra4 waste are sold to scra4 dealer/E9cl)ding waste 4ic,er& which earns relativel- less than other

IWW& monthl- income varied from *;000=;000/ E9ce4t 2=t=2 collector and waste segregator& all categories of wor,er

are self=em4lo-ed and doesnt rel- on monthl- salar-/ Waste

4ic,er are economicall- v)lnerale categor- )t still ma,ingmone- ranging from Rs/ 00=;00 dail-/ IWW have 4la-ed a

significant role in changing meaning of waste/ The

transforming meaning of waste into wealth is d)e contri)tionof IWW/ ?ac, of large rec-cle 4lants in e4al is allowing

$.> of total scra4 e94ort in India/ More n)mer ofem4lo-ment co)ld e created within co)ntr- and more than

of total m)nici4al waste co)ld e managed if IWW arerecogni5ed as significant 4art of )ran management/ The-

see, identit- and deserves direct intervention fromgovernment sector as well/ Formali5ation of IWW is -et not

an iss)e of toda-s 7athmand)/

3C71W?E2@MET

We wo)ld li,e to than, o)r co)rse coordinator

2r/ 7irti 7)s)m Hoshi for his inval)ale advice and

g)idance thro)gho)t the research/ We wo)ld also

li,e to than, Mr/ ain Bi,ash Mahar'an& +ro'ectcoordinator of +RISM 4ro'ect la)nched - Centre

for Integrated "ran 2evelo4ment (CI"2% for

giving )s re)ired information for o)r research/

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Documents

Finding Wealth in Waste: The Changing Role of Informal Sector in Solid Waste Management