Surviving from garbage: the role of informal waste-pickers in a dynamic model of solid-waste management in developing countries

Moreno-S Nchez, Roc O Del Pilar and Jorge Higinio Maldonado ()
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Rocio del Pilar Moreno-Sanchez ()

Environment and Development Economics, 2006, vol. 11, issue 03, pages 371-391

Abstract: In developing countries, informal waste-pickers (known as scavengers) play an important role in solid waste management systems, acting in a parallel way to formal waste collection and disposal agents. Scavengers collect, from the streets, dumpsites, or landfills, re-usable and recyclable material that can be reincorporated into the economy s production process. Despite the benefits that they generate to society, waste-pickers are ignored when waste management policies are formulated. The purpose of this paper is to integrate the role of scavengers in a dynamic model of production, consumption, and recovery, and to show that, in an economy producing solid waste, efficiency can be reached using a set of specific and complementary policies: a tax on virgin materials use, a tax on consumption and disposal, and a subsidy to the recovery of material. A numerical simulation is performed to evaluate the impact of these policies on landfill lifetime and natural resource stocks. A discussion on the implementation of these instruments is also included.

Date: 2006

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Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cup:endeec:v:11:y:2006:i:03:p:371-391_00

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