Informal Waste Management

Authors: Nas P.J.M.¹; Jaffe R.²

Source: Environment, Development and Sustainability, Volume 6, Number 3, September 2004 , pp. 337-353(17)

Publisher: Springer

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Abstract:

This article discusses the poorly assessed topic of informal waste management systems, in which there appears to be a high level of heterogeneity throughout the world. The article considers the ways scavengers function within the broader context of waste management; they show a wide range of locally formed and adapted activities and social systems. Examples from different cultures are included: the United States, Jamaica, Brazil, Egypt and Indonesia. The authors advocate comparative research and find a contextual, holistic approach to be the most appropriate. Using such an approach, they isolate the important factors that characterize these systems: technical, socio-cultural, socio-political and organizational aspects are elaborated. Experiments in intervention have been undertaken at various levels, from varying ideological and theoretical backgrounds. Academic analyses have ranged from neo-Marxist political economy models to neo-liberal development approaches. As expressed in the title the authors conclude that informal waste management systems are unjustifiably considered problematic whereas they often reveal great development potential.

Keywords: informal sector; scavenging; urban sustainable development; waste management

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/B:ENVI.0000029912.41481.a5

Affiliations: 1: CNWS Research School, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9515, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands 2: CNWS Research School, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9515, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands; (*author for correspondence, ; (0) 71 5272939; (0) 71 5272920), Tel: 31, Fax: 31, Email: r.k.jaffe@let.leidenuniv.nl

Publication date: 2004-09-01