Waste Collection by Rag Pickers in the Cities – A Brief Report
Authors/Creators
- 1. G.Narayanamma Institute of Technology & Science (for Women), Shaikpet, Hyderabad -104
- 2. Department of Science & Humanities, Lakireddy Bali Reddy College of Engineering, Mylavaram, Krishna Dist., A.P
- 3. * Head, Department of Environmental Sciences, Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur, A.P
Description
Besides compostable waste, the municipal waste consists of inorganic materials such as glass, metal, rubber, plastic and other miscellaneous items that could be recovered by the way of recycling. The involvement of an unorganized sector consisting of waste pickers, scrap and waste traders in recycling and all together assisting in translocating waste to processing factories is very common in developing countries. Several studies on the involvement of rag pickers in waste collection and disposal have been published from India and abroad (Beede and Bloom, 1995; Reddy and Galab, 1998; Agarwal and Gupta, 2002 so on). A similar but extensive study was made in Vijayawada and Eluru corporations with attempts to assess the role of waste collectors in the recovery and reduction of solid waste and also to evaluate their indirect involvement in waste segregation, collection, reduction and disposal through reuse and recycling including the occupational hazards which were least attended.