Abstract
With this study, we aim to assess integration possibilities of formal and informal waste management approaches in a low-income country context by using recycling as a tool towards sustainability. Using a holistic approach, this study examines both formal and informal aspects of recycling value chains through a stakeholder lens. Pakistan is far from being a circular economy, as evident from the dismal levels of municipal solid waste collection and recycling. This problem calls for the effective integration of formal and informal recycling business processes to fill the void. With this study, we seek to assess various aspects of formal and informal waste recycling in Pakistan through an inductive qualitative research design by examining the case of one of the most populous cities, Lahore, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Equal representation to various stakeholders is accorded, with 25 interviews each with managers of private companies, public companies, waste pickers and scrap dealers in the target area. The study highlights that recycling sector in Pakistan is completely informal and unregulated with no or little support available due to a lack of funds and systematic planning. The empirical evidence suggests that the formal sector lacks the capacity for proper waste disposal of total waste generated. The recycling aspects are left to informal sector stakeholders who improvise to extract value from MSW in an entrepreneurial manner. The formal sector holds a bias towards informal stakeholders due to the fact that their work also serves as a theft bargain and resale platform under the guise of waste collection and recycling. The study highlights the most and least sought after recyclables, identifies gray channel markets of spare parts, metal recycling and counterfeit products, and practices of adulteration in the target area. This study recommends as a policy input, to overcome bias towards the informal sector, the creation of a central recycling commission to overlook and regulate the affairs of hitherto unregulated and informal municipal solid waste and recycling value chains.
Highlights
The real issue is mismanagement of waste through formal mechanisms, which is a source of grave concern for municipal authorities in Pakistan as they are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of waste disposal workloads, leaving recycling to be handled by informal stakeholders in an entrepreneurial manner, who oftentimes work without any supervision or monitoring
We have far established that waste management in Pakistan is a combination of formal and informal waste management stakeholders who work within their limitations
A highly creative process of waste recycling is present across Pakistan, where value exploration, extraction and value delivery occur through careful segregation, consolidation and distribution of recyclables
Summary
These problems are further interconnected with other problems such as population explosion, urbanization, and industrialization, which cause accelerated landfill accumulation with little or no formal policies for waste diversion and recycling in many parts of world [2]. The symbiotic relationship of formal and informal municipal solid waste management (MSWM) stakeholders and their integration exhibit varying characteristics and levels of interdependence across regions [4]. Mostly government interventions strive for inclusion and integration of shadow economy stakeholders in recycling and waste management value chains [5]. Cooperative industrial symbiosis exists as a business strategy to achieve efficiencies in solid waste management [6]
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