Studies on the Solid Waste Collection by Rag Pickers at Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, India

Waste was 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...ect. This activity require no skills and is a source of income for a growing number of urban poor people. The present paper intends to present a vulnerability study of the rag pickers of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) with focus on the socio-economic and occupational health aspects. The paper makes use of a database, parenting to the socio-economic profile of the rag pickers including the working conditions, and their problems and expectations. This information has been developed through literature review, questionnaire survey and open-ended interviews conducted to generate data on rag pickers in GHMC.