| Author | Tao, Zhao |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.UE-99-03 |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of
Science |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | China was once the only Asian country that did not have informal recycling activities
before the 1980s. However, with China's social and economic transition since the 1980s, a
substantial informal sector in waste recycling has emerged in Chinese cities. The informal
sector labor groups such as itinerant buyers and waste pickers play a vital role in waste
recovery in Chinese cities at present. Although the concept of the "informal sector" and its
role in waste recycling have spread throughout the developing countries, and many studies and
research have been published in international journals; research on the informal sector's
involvement in waste recycling in Chinese cities is limited. Thus, this study aimed to (a)
analyze the emergence of the informal sector involved in waste recycling in Chinese cities;
and (b) investigate the scope of effective utilization of the informal sector labor for promoting
waste recycling and thereby contributing to solid waste management. Data of this study were
collected through a field survey in Wuhan city - the largest city in central China.
The compiled and analyzed data suggest that emergence of informal activities can be
traced to the following transitions of China's economy and society since the 1980s: (a)
transition of rural production management mode (from people's communes to household
responsibility production) and rural-urban migration control policy (from a strict control to a
loose control), which granted freedom to farmers to migrate from poor rural areas to cities; (b)
transition of economic policy (from ignoring profit to pursuing profit), which has gradually
demolished the unique waste purchasing system developed in China since the 1950s and
thereby fuelled the emergence of a substantial informal sector in waste recycling; and (c)
changes in life style in urban areas (from basic needs meeting to modern consumption), which
has resulted in not only the increase of the quantum of reclaimable materials but the decrease
of household participation in waste recycling due to decreased economic incentives. The
interaction among the above factors and other related ones has led to a rapid expansion of the
informal sector in waste recycling in Chinese cities since the 1980s.
The field work and questionnaire survey to systematically explore the working and
living environment of the informal sector labor groups involved in waste recycling in Wuhan
reveal that the realities are grim: low income, low social status, health risks, heavy work and
dilapidated housing. The informal sector labor groups contribute considerably to waste
management by retrieving resources from the wastes; thereby, reducing the waste volume to
be ultimately disposed of. However, people engaged in such recycling activities are nuisances
in the eyes of the city managers and the public. The significance and potentials of the informal
sector in waste recovery are neither fully recognized nor appreciated.
In order to change this situation for the better, this study proposes a two-prong policy
recommendations. In one the target is to effectively utilize the informal sector labor in waste
recycling in Chinese cities; in the other, the goal is to improve the working and living
environment of the people involved. This strategy to succeed would require policy makers and
executives to fully recognize the importance of the role of informal recycling activities and
facilitate conducting these activities. They need to recognize that they would go seriously
wrong in their plans for solid waste management if they ignore these informal recycling
activities that have been taking place in Chinese cities. |
| Year | 2000 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Urban Environmental and Management (UE) |
| Chairperson(s) | Amin, A.T.M. Nurul; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Zimmermann, Willi;Sathasivan, Arumugam ; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | International Institute for Aerospace Survey & Earth Science
(I. T. C., Netherlands);Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) - Germany; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2000 |