Informal sector and municipal solid waste management: Role of rag pickers case study Bhopal

Abstract

Waste is an unavoidable by-product of human activities. Economic development, urbanization and improved living standards in cities contribute to increase in the quantity and complexity of generated solid waste. If accumulated, it leads to degradation of urban environment, stresses natural resources and leads to health problems. Solid waste management has become a major environmental issue in India. Waste management, however, remains a major challenge for any society, since all natural processes generate waste. Rag pickers play an important, but usually unrecognised role in the waste management system of Indian cities. They collect garbage in search of recyclable items that can be sold to scrap merchant like paper, plastic, tin...etc. This activity require no skills and is a source of income for a growing number of urban poor people. The present thesis intends to present the role of the informal sector in MSWM system with focus on the conditions of the rag pickers and occupational health aspects. For this thesis study of data, parenting to the socio-economic profile of the rag pickers including the working conditions and their problems and expectations has been carried out. This information has been developed through literature review, primary survey and open-ended interviews conducted to generate data on rag pickers in Bhanpur Solid waste dumping site in Bhopal.