MODES OF URBAN INORGANIC SOLID WASTE 117
This situation is in stark contrast to that in developing countries. Waste minimisation
is, to our knowledge, not generally applied as a matter of public policy^6. Waste reuse,
material recovery and recycling on a private commercial basis are extensive, despite
the fact that most local and national governments have not supported such activities,
or actively forbidden them^7. The economic viability of the trade and recycling sector
varies widely across regions and urban areas, and depends on several factors It is
viable in local urban economies, where wage levels are low and alternative employ-
ment is relatively scarce, where high quality waste is sizeable and readily accessible,
and where there is a (created) scarcity of raw materials, which form a major cost to
local enterprises (van Beukering, 1994; Bose and Blore, 1993; Dhanalakshmi and
Iyer, 1999; Lardinois and Furedy, 1999: 18-9). Regional differences exist: in Asia,
such systems are well established, whereas in Sub-Saharan Africa, they are much less
extensive (Karanja, 1999; chapter 8 in this volume). There is also some evidence that
they are related to the size of the cities concerned, and the density of urban agglomer-
ations. In Southern India, waste materials from small towns were transported to central
locations in large towns for further recycling. In Kenya, recycling companies have
waste materials collected from all over Kenya for further recycling (Karanja, PhD
thesis, in preparation).
Nevertheless, private sector activities are susceptible to change in external conditions.
Waste recovery and recycling decreases in situations when wage levels go up and
alternative employment increases, waste is mixed and not readily accessible, when
collection costs are high, or when alternative sources of raw materials become cheaper
and widely available,e.g. when import duties are reduced (Karanja, pers com.; van
Beukering, 2001).
Public sector discussions of trade and recycling in urban environmental management
have largely ignored the existing private sector commodity chains transforming waste
materials. These activities have been organised into a variety of commodity chains.
They include those with street pickers at the lower-income end, dealers, and owners
of enterprises using recycled materials as raw materials for production at the
highest-income end (the figure in chapter I illustrates the chain)^8. Alternatively, itin-
erant buyers buy waste material and send it through dealers up the commodity chain
(Furedy, 1993).
- There are differences between countries in the relative contributions by industry and households sepa-
rating material. - The director of the NIUA in New Delhi confirmed that only one large company in India is known to
voluntarily be introducing waste minimisation measures. - It has consisted of informal collection, trading, and recycling of materials that have an economic value
to others than the original owner. - In the next section, we will discuss the modalities of such commodity chains.