Abstract
Large-scale informal recycling networks often emerge among developing economies in response to the challenges of modern urban waste accumulation. South Korea, despite its highly industrialized, developed economy, still maintains an extensive informal recycling sector made up of networks of local junk shops and individual waste pickers. As cities’ large data sources have become more widely available, the use of urban informatics in sustainable smart waste management has become more widespread. In this paper, we use geographic information system (GIS) analysis in order to uncover patterns within Korea’s informal recycling system, looking at the relationship between population demographics, waste levels, and urban planning with the prevalence of junk shops across Korea. We then interviewed junk shop owners, urban planning researchers, and government officials in order to better understand the factors that led to the coexistence of the country’s informal and formal systems of waste management and how junk shops have changed their operations over time in response to recent developments in cities’ urban fabrics. We conclude by giving suggestions for how the usage of urban informatics could increase the efficiency and sustainability of the country’s waste management systems, while also discussing the possible pitfalls of using such existing datasets for future policy decisions.
Highlights
While developed economies have created public service systems that collect and extract value from recyclable waste, developing economies often depend on informal, labor-intensive recycling systems that rely on independent waste pickers who collect and sell recyclables for a living [1]
The final regression model for predicting the number of junk shops in any given area was created after eliminating variables with high collinearity or weak significance in a series of rounds For population-related variables, due to the high collinearity between the total and elderly population variables, elderly population was dropped, along with the variables for the number of kindergartens, elementary schools, and elementary school students in a district
Our data analysis suggests that despite policy changes that have often disadvantaged junk shops’ operations, informal waste-gathering continues to exist in nearly every populated area of the country and that the spatial layout of these junk shops is related to population demographics and to the area’s spatial characteristics and dominant industries
Summary
While developed economies have created public service systems that collect and extract value from recyclable waste, developing economies often depend on informal, labor-intensive recycling systems that rely on independent waste pickers who collect and sell recyclables for a living [1]. South Korea, despite its advanced economy with advanced government institutions, still relies on small-scale junk shops and independent collectors in order to process the majority of cities’ waste. Following the Korean War, socio-economically vulnerable individuals such as orphans, elderly individuals, and those with low levels of education often collected discarded recyclables to sell to junk shops as a means of economic survival [2]. Low-income individuals make up the majority of waste pickers throughout Korean cities, collecting recyclables by foot and using handcarts to pull the waste through the streets.
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