Formalization of Informal Waste Pickers’ Cooperatives in Blantyre, Malawi: A Feasibility Assessment

Cidrick Kasinja,Elizabeth Tilley

doi:10.3390/su10041149

Abstract

Poor road networks, inadequate financial resources and low levels of political will mean that many developing countries, especially their unplanned settlements, struggle with solid waste management. Recently, Informal Waste Pickers (IWPs) have been incorporated into waste management cooperatives by formalizing their operations as a strategy to improve the quality and efficiency of waste management in such areas. This study was conducted in Zingwangwa, an unplanned settlement in Blantyre, Malawi, to understand whether the formalization of IWPs into cooperatives could be effective and/or accepted as a way of managing Municipal Solid Waste in unplanned urban settlements in Malawi. Thirty-four IWPs in Zingwangwa were identified and interviewed using a structured questionnaire; personnel from the Blantyre City Council and middlemen were interviewed as key informants. We determined that IWPs experience challenges in all dimensions of their lives: low material prices with exploitative price fluctuations, negative public perception and a lack of transportation are a few of their struggles. Furthermore, a fear of decreased income, conflicts during proceeds sharing, free riding behaviors and an attachment to their independence mean that IWPs are unlikely to form a cooperative on their own though some would be willing to join if a third party initiated the formalization process.

Highlights

Three billion people worldwide lack municipal solid waste management services [1]
Inadequate enforcement of, poor urban planning/design and corruption have contributed to the growth of slums and unplanned settlements in African cities [2,3,4]
The majority of Informal Waste Pickers (IWPs) collect plastics (polyethylene terephthalate (PETE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), etc.) because plastics are the second most common type of waste disposed in urban areas of Malawi [18]

Summary

Introduction

Three billion people worldwide lack municipal solid waste management services [1]. 62% of urban populations in Sub-Saharan Africa live in slum areas characterized by uncontrolled, informal spatial developments with little or no access to basic services such as water, sanitation, energy, or waste management systems. Methods and approaches to properly service and manage the unplanned urban settlements have remained somewhat poorly assessed by urban development researchers throughout the continent [5,6,7]. Conventional waste management systems have mostly failed in unplanned urban areas of developing countries where poor road networks limit the speed and agility of waste collection trucks [13,14]. Given the failure of adopting solutions from less urbanized, richer nations, the informal systems that already exist warrant examination [15]

Methods

Results

Conclusion