Permission to appropriate: Waste pickers’ ‘guidelines’ for contesting and consolidating claims to waste on the streets of Tshwane, South Africa

Abstract

Much has been written about the role of waste pickers in the global south. This literature has examined conflicts over waste, particularly in the context of privatization and state initiatives that seek to more systematically and legibly capture waste’s value. These conflicts suggest that, perhaps ironically, there is not enough valuable waste for all those willing to work to reclaim it. In this paper, we argue that there remains ambiguity over fundamental questions around the meaning of ‘rights’ to material resources in conditions of scarcity. Here, we do not seek to determine who ought to have access, but instead look to an empirical case to understand ongoing practices and permissions that enable access to waste. We asked those who work in the informal waste sector about who is ultimately given permission to access this value, and how such permissions are framed, demanded, enacted, infringed upon and contested. We also looked to see how well words mapped onto actions, and what happened when conflicts arose. In this context, we report a series of ‘guidelines’ that the waste pickers in our research used to establish, negotiate and contest claims to access waste among those who work informally in the sector and with others who see its value. We conclude by considering the implications of thinking of waste as a limited resource and of the ongoing construction and negotiation of permissions, rather than rights, to take materials in the city.