GRID LINES Sharing knowledge , experiences , and innovations in public - private partnerships in infrastructure

Helping to eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable development through public-private partnerships in infrastructure noTE no. 44 – oCT 2008 F or the urban poor in developing countries, informal waste recycling is a common way to earn income. There are few reliable estimates of the number of people engaged in waste picking or of its economic and environmental impact. Yet studies suggest that when organized and supported, waste picking can spur grassroots investment by poor people, create jobs, reduce poverty, save municipalities money, improve industrial competitiveness , conserve natural resources, and protect the environment. Three models have been used to organize waste pickers: microenterprises, cooperatives, and public-private partnerships. These can lead to more efficient recycling and more effective poverty reduction. Waste pickers can be seen at work around the world. In developing countries about 1 percent of the urban population—at least 15 million people—survive by salvaging recyclables from waste (figure 1). The factors that " push " people into waste picking are fundamentally economic. Many poor people, faced with a choice between starving or waste picking, choose the latter. Many waste pickers belong to vulnerable groups: recent migrants, the unemployed, the disabled, women, children, the elderly. They survive in a hostile social environment, sometimes rejected by society. They work on the streets and in open dumps, where daily contact with all kinds of waste—including hazardous and medical waste— poses risks to their health (Cointreau 2006). Children are especially vulnerable (box 1). Because industry demands large volumes of materials that are processed—sorted, baled, crushed, or granulated—it does not buy directly from individual waste pickers. Instead, middlemen purchase recyclables recovered by waste pickers, then sell the materials—after some sorting, cleaning, and processing—to scrap dealers, who in turn sell to industry. In these circumstances middlemen often earn large profits, while waste pickers are paid far too little to escape poverty. Municipalities often consider waste pickers a problem. Indeed, unorganized waste picking can have an adverse impact on neighborhoods and cities. Waste pickers often scatter the contents of garbage bags or bins to salvage anything of value. They do not always put the garbage back, increasing the municipality's costs for waste collection. Their carts may interfere with traffic. And if they use horses or donkeys to pull their carts, the manure may end up on the streets. Municipal authorities often ban waste pickers' activities. But bans only drive the activities underground. Waste pickers adapt by …