Chapter 6 (Chapter 5 was specific to Nairobi) goes into detail about the recycling chains in Hyderabad and other parts of India as well as how changes in this delicate system can wreak havoc on the most vulnerable of its actors (i.e. waste pickers)

While recycling programs and their importance are widely accepted (if not always executed) in the United States and other developed nations, the same is not so for much of the developing world. The focus in countries like India has been on reducing health hazards to people which necessitates getting waste out of cities as quickly as possible, leaving little opportunity for the separation of inorganic material, and their recycling. Once again, the private sector as risen up to meet this challenge to some extent, however recycling companies don’t have the same support from the government as other waste management sectors. The reason why isn’t clear from the article, but it does go on to say that with limited government support, the private sector contribution to recycling is limited to small, informal enterprises that live or die by shifts in the market for recyclables.

It’s odd that the private sector gets little attention for recycling from the government, since according the article, the private sector does way more to divert the waste flow than either public or NGO’s combined.

The success or failure of the recycling industry in India depends on several factors:

• -Import fees and the relative costs of raw materials vs. recycling costs
• -Availability of alternative employment
• -Whether waste is “mixed” or readily accessible.

Which brings us to the economic distinction between “mixed”and “unmixed” waste. Unmixed waste is more valuable, as it requires less separation and cleaning before being processed into new materials. The challenge in India is to incentivize households to separate their trash to make this process more viable long term. The reason for this problem is, again, not elaborated on in the article, but I would take a guess that it comes down to awareness as well as understanding the financial and social benefit of doing so.

The article goes into further detail on the roles of itinerant traders, dealers and wholesalers in the recycling process. While employees are economically vulnerable at all stages, most of the pain of an economic crisis is felt by the waste pickers. Often, the only social security they have is provided in the form of informal credit during times of illness or death of a family member given to them by dealers and traders, which in turn creates dependency. However, cooperation between NGO’s, the government and local communities has lead to some positive changes in the perception and treatment of waste pickers who are predominantly women and children. Awareness of their role in the waste management system has decreased harassment by police and locals. A small improvement, but an an improvement none the less. The cooperative efforts by local communities, NGOs and governments in recycling, for the time being, seem to only benefit small areas and haven’t been tested in citywide initiatives

One interesting shift is that as private companies have taken over the role of door to door waste collection, there is predictably less trash on the street, however, less income for waste pickers who have relied for so long on the abundance of discarded waste in the streets to make their living.

While steps have been taken to improve the working and living conditions of waste pickers, their low status in society is still a barrier for better recognition. Also, the various actors involved in these waste management chains seem to be struggling to unite under one banner fully due to their differing reasons for wanting to make changes (social justice, cleaner living environment, ecological). As an outsider looking in, it’s easy for me to scratch my head and wonder why those differing reasons matter if the goals are essentially the same.

In short, while waste-to-energy set ups seem to be gaining steam in cities across India, albeit with some resistance, formal, government supported recycling remains elusive.