Ananya Singh

Role of Informal Waste Workers in Powering a Circular Economy India’s circular economy is significantly shaped by informal waste workers, who contribute to material recovery and urban cleanliness, often outside the purview of formal systems. Globally, informal waste workers recover, sort, and channel discarded materials back into use, delivering environmental and economic benefits.1 Yet they work in hazardous conditions without legal recognition, social protection, or fair pay. Their crucial role in meeting urban sustainability goals is overlooked in policy. While wealthier economies invest in mechanised recycling, low- and middle-income countries rely on informal networks of marginalised workers who cut landfill use, emissions, and raw material extraction.2 India’s Waste Challenge and the Scale of Informal Sector Contribution Waste management in India is one of the most complex in the world as the country generates approximately 62 million tonnes of municipal solid waste annually3, with urban households alone producing 0.5 to 0.8 kg of waste per capita each day, a number which is projected to double by 2030. As the capacity of formal systems remain inadequate, only 22–28% of India’s waste is processed or treated. The remainder is either dumped in unsanitary landfills or openly burned which ends up making waste burning one of India’s top three sources of greenhouse gas emissions, or simply uncollected, clogging urban infrastructure and contributing to flooding. This systemic gap is filled by India’s 1.5 to 4 million informal waste workers4. These workers collect, sort, and trade recyclables at scale, recovering an estimated 20% of urban waste in many cities. Their labour prevents the unchecked growth of landfills, reduces pollution, and delivers a critical environmental service at minimal cost to municipalities. In Delhi alone, approximately 150,000 waste pickers divert more than 400,000 tonnes of waste from landfills annually, saving the city an estimated ₹54.75 crores in disposal costs. 5 Across Indian cities like Delhi and Bangalore, their efforts are estimated to save municipalities around $13,700 per day in collection and disposal costs. Their contribution is critical to India’s recycling outcomes, with a 60% plastic recycling rate, far exceeding the global average of 14%. This success stems not from high-tech infrastructure but from decentralised, labour-intensive networks of waste pickers, kabadiwalas, and scrap traders. A single waste picker collects 60–90 kg of recyclable material daily, supporting supply chains that deliver affordable raw materials, reduce reliance on virgin resources, save energy, and cut carbon footprints. Beyond materials, they limit methane emissions by diverting waste from dumps, reduce toxic burning, and help keep drains clear, mitigating the risk of urban flooding. In Delhi alone, their efforts cut 960,000 metric tonnes of CO2 annually which is three times more than the city’s waste-to-energy plants.6 Socio-Economic Conditions and Barriers to Inclusion Despite their crucial role, waste pickers remain among India’s most economically vulnerable workers. In Maharashtra, around 100,000 informal waste workers exist, with 80% below the 1 https://www.wiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/WIEGO-Waste-Pickers-Position-Paper.pdf https://www.undp.org/blog/unsung-heroes-four-things-policymakers-can-do-empower-informal-waste-workers https://devex.shorthandstories.com/giving-power-to-waste-pickers-to-boost-the-circular-economy/index.html 4 https://india.gaee.org/2023/07/05/transitioning-to-a-circular-economy-the-role-of-informal-sector-in-waste-management/ 5 https://www.banyannation.com/blog/integrating-informal-sector-for-sustainable-waste-management/ 2 3 6 https://www.downtoearth.org.in/waste/solid-waste-management-why-integrating-informal-sector-is-a-must-83841 poverty line. A UNDP study found 70% earn under ₹10,000 monthly, with women earning even less. Few have health insurance, formal housing, or social benefits.7 Most belong to marginalised castes, migrant groups, and face stigma as their work is seen as “polluting.”8 Women do the most hazardous tasks for lower pay, and children often work instead of attending school. Conditions are unsafe and unhygienic, with little protective gear and exposure to broken glass, chemicals, medical waste, and rotting food, causing injuries and chronic illnesses.9 Although the Solid Waste Management Rules (2016) mandate integrating waste pickers into formal systems, implementation is weak. Privatisation in cities like Delhi has displaced 50% of waste pickers by favouring large contractors and mechanised systems without offering alternative livelihoods.10 Challenges include insufficient budget allocations, limited institutional capacity, and the absence of systematic planning to ensure meaningful inclusion and long-term support for informal workers. EPR frameworks in India must include informal waste workers, who recover up to 60% of plastic waste. Ignoring them in favour of centralised systems risks displacing over 1.5 million workers. Policies should ensure registration, fair pricing, and partnerships with informal networks to meet recycling targets sustainably.11 Conclusion: Building an Inclusive and Sustainable Circular Economy India’s waste pickers are vital environmental stewards, reducing landfill use, preventing pollution, conserving resources, and lowering carbon emissions through decentralised, labourintensive systems at lower costs than mechanised models. Successful examples include Pune’s SWaCH cooperative, with over 3,000 women providing door-to-door collection, source segregation, fair wages, and social security. Bengaluru’s Dry Waste Collection Centres diverted 2,871 tonnes of plastic waste from landfills in 2018.12 The NAMASTE scheme, launched by the Ministries of Social Justice & Empowerment and Housing & Urban Affairs with UNDP registers waste pickers, offers ID cards, PPE, training, health insurance, and subsidies.13 Pune registered 8,000 waste pickers, while Bengaluru offers profiling and machinery subsidies up to ₹5 lakh per beneficiary.14 Limited participation of informal workers in formal recycling schemes constrains inclusive circularity, especially in carton package recycling. A remarkable effort by Tetra Pak–Bal Vikas Dhara initiative in Delhi-NCR, supports waste pickers in 24 low-income areas by formalising roles, improving incomes, and enabling welfare access. It also provides skill training for women, education for children, and health services for over 3,000 people15 https://www.undp.org/india/press-releases/undp-releases-first-its-kind-assessment-socio-economic-status-waste-pickersindia 8 https://sprf.in/informal-waste-workers-the-issue-of-formalisation/ 9 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC-/ 10 https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/just-transition-for-informal-waste-workers-in-the-circular-economy 11 https://www.outlookbusiness.com/planet/circularity/india-ragpickers-powering-circular-economy 12 Supra 6 13 https://www.business-standard.com/india-news/centre-along-with-undp-to-empower-waste-pickers-through-inclusion-safety-_1.html 14 https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/bbmp-launches-survey-for-sanitation-workers-and-waste-pickers-undernamaste-scheme/articleshow/-.cms 15 https://www.tetrapak.com/en-in/insights/cases-articles/empowering-indias-wastepickers#:~:text=In%20recognition%20of%20the%20vital,in%20this%20largely%20informal%20sector. 7 Recognising waste pickers as essential partners in India’s circular economy is not simply an ethical imperative but an economic and environmental necessity. Policymakers must prioritise their legal recognition, fair remuneration, access to social security, protective equipment, healthcare, and education for their children. Municipalities need dedicated budgets for training waste pickers, providing them with protective gear and arranging registration and ID issuance, supporting integration into collection and segregation systems, and building infrastructure such as material recovery facilities which shall include spaces for informal workers.16 A truly sustainable, circular economy must be inclusive that empowers the workers who have long sustained it and ensures that the environmental benefits of recycling are matched by improved livelihoods, dignity, and social protection for those who make it possible. 16 https://docs.wbcsd.org/2016/11/wbcsd_informalapproaches.pdf