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Overview
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CREED Paper #5: The Informal Sector and Waste Paper Recovery in Bombay
| Author(s) | Pieter van Beukering, Edwin Schoon, Ajit Mani |
| Co-Author(s) | |
| Date | 1996-06-01 |
| Theme(s) | None |
| Method(s) | None |
| Serie(s) | Creed Working Papers |
Summary
The lack of raw materials is considered to be one of the main constraints to a comprehensive recycling industry in the South. This paper looks at the possibilities for increasing recyclable waste recovery in developing countries, focusing on Bombay, India. First, a literature study provides a general introduction to the problems of solid waste and recovery in developing cities. Based on field surveys in the informal recovery sector and literature on formal waste collection, a simulation model for the solid waste flows in Bombay is developed. Two policy options under varying degrees of public response are considered: the encouragement of the existing informal recovery sector and the introduction of a Western style recovery system. Extrapolations of four different effects are presented for the period until 2010: formal and informal employment, environmental impact, public expenditure and income distribution. Promoting informal recovery seems to be a more cost-effective and environmentally optimal policy measure: investment requirements are minimal while landfill costs are reduced; employment effects are also positive because of the high labour intensity of informal waste recovery. However, the impact on income distribution is worse than a Western-style policy.
Documents
| Type | Name | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract | Creed Abstract 5.doc | Word Document | Download |
| Full Document | creed05e.pdf | PDF Document | Download |
