BOX 24.3
Waste-picking as a survival strategy in Bangalore, India
Most of the estimated 25,000 waste-pickers in the southern Indian city of Bangalore are members of the lower castes. A large proportion of the labour force are women, since, despite the low returns and the health risks, waste-picking offers one of the few ways in which women from lower castes can earn an income and also meet their household and child-rearing responsibilities.
Waste-pickers collect materials that form the main input for both small and large-scale recycling operations but their share of the total profit is tiny There is no formal contract between the pickers and the factory, materials passing through a network of dealers, each of whom seeks to maximise his profit by reducing the amount paid to the pickers, cheating them through undercounting or tying them in to a labour agreement through high-interest loans Prices are also affected by market prices for raw materials, including waste imported from countries of the developed world. In times of inflation, falling prices, poor weather and competition the precarious position of waste pickers is attenuated.
Waste-picking by mothers means that most children do not attend school, their labour being required for the survival of the household. Girls usually accompany their mother and continue waste-picking even after marriage. Boys work alone or with friends; many leave home to survive on the streets, either through continuing waste-picking or through other casual sources of income.
Waste-picking is tiring, heavy work and pickers are exposed to illnesses and infection, which, combined with inadequate washing facilities in the slums and limited access to medical care, form a potent threat to their health and that of their children. Yet waste-picking is often the only economic opportunity open to those groups whose work and life reflects their low status in Indian society Sources: M. Huysman (1994) Waste picking as a survival strategy for women in Indian cities Environment and Urbanization 612), 155 74; C.Hunt (1996) Child waste pickers in India Environment and Urbanization 8(2),111-18