Assessing the Formal and Informal Waste Recycling Business Processes through a Stakeholders Lens in Pakistan

Muhammad Nawaz, Muhammad Tariq Yousafzai, Salim Khan, Wisal Ahmad, Muhammad Salman, Heesup Han, Antonio Ariza-Montes and Alejandro Vega-Muñoz
Additional contact information
Muhammad Nawaz: Institute of Business Studies, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 26000, Pakistan
Muhammad Tariq Yousafzai: Centre for Management and Commerce (CMC), University of Swat, Mingora 19130, Pakistan
Salim Khan: Riphah school of Leadership, Faculty of Management Science (FMS), Riphah International University, Malakand Campus, Chakdara 18300, Pakistan
Wisal Ahmad: Institute of Business Studies, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 26000, Pakistan
Muhammad Salman: Institute of Business Studies, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 26000, Pakistan
Heesup Han: College of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Korea
Antonio Ariza-Montes: Social Matters Research Group, Universidad Loyola Andalucía, C/Escritor Castilla Aguayo, 414004 Córdoba, Spain
Alejandro Vega-Muñoz: Public Policy Observatory, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, 425 Pedro de Valdivia Avenue, Providencia, Santiago 7500912, Chile

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 21, 1-16

Abstract: With this study, we aim to assess integration possibilities of formal and informal waste management approaches in a low-income country context by using recycling as a tool towards sustainability. Using a holistic approach, this study examines both formal and informal aspects of recycling value chains through a stakeholder lens. Pakistan is far from being a circular economy, as evident from the dismal levels of municipal solid waste collection and recycling. This problem calls for the effective integration of formal and informal recycling business processes to fill the void. With this study, we seek to assess various aspects of formal and informal waste recycling in Pakistan through an inductive qualitative research design by examining the case of one of the most populous cities, Lahore, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Equal representation to various stakeholders is accorded, with 25 interviews each with managers of private companies, public companies, waste pickers and scrap dealers in the target area. The study highlights that recycling sector in Pakistan is completely informal and unregulated with no or little support available due to a lack of funds and systematic planning. The empirical evidence suggests that the formal sector lacks the capacity for proper waste disposal of total waste generated. The recycling aspects are left to informal sector stakeholders who improvise to extract value from MSW in an entrepreneurial manner. The formal sector holds a bias towards informal stakeholders due to the fact that their work also serves as a theft bargain and resale platform under the guise of waste collection and recycling. The study highlights the most and least sought after recyclables, identifies gray channel markets of spare parts, metal recycling and counterfeit products, and practices of adulteration in the target area. This study recommends as a policy input, to overcome bias towards the informal sector, the creation of a central recycling commission to overlook and regulate the affairs of hitherto unregulated and informal municipal solid waste and recycling value chains.

Keywords: formal recycling; informal recycling; entrepreneurs; sustainability; salient stakeholders; waste pickers sustainopreneurs; public–private partnerships (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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