144 S.GALAB, S. SUDHAKAR REDDY, ISA BAUD
between slack and peak season indicate that itinerant traders with strong ties allow a
greater fluctuation than traders with no enduring ties with retail traders Because they
have no access to loans from such traders, they try and keep their income up by buying
as much as possible (see table Appendix).
7.6. STREET AND DUMP SITE WASTE PICKERS
Social background
The main types of non-household and non-institutional collectors of waste for trade
and recycling are the street- and dumpsite waste pickers They include younger men,
women and children. In Hyderabad, waste pickers are mainly recent rural migrants to
the city, moving there as family for mainly economic reasons. Both groups come
mainly from scheduled caste backgrounds, and to some extent from scheduled tribe
backgrounds. More women are found among them than in other categories of working
people in the waste chain: 28 percent of the street pickers and 42 percent of the dump
pickers Children work mainly among the dump pickers: they are 15 percent of the
people interviewed there, compared to only 4 percent among street pickers In both
groups, 80 percent of the people are illiterate, and the majority of their children do not
go to school either.
The pickers live in dire circumstances. They have little access to public services. The
vast majority does not possess ration cards (88-90 percent do not), and they make use
of public water taps or bore wells to obtain water. Among dump pickers, 65 percent
have lived less than five years in Hyderabad, whereas among street pickers 53 percent
have lived there shorter than five years The waste pickers at the Mansurabad site come
from the same rural area, are related, and live together in one neighbourhood in
Hyderabad. Waste pickers at Golconda and Gandamguda have varied social and
geographic backgrounds. This suggests that migrants may move up in the value chain
as they live longer in the area, gaining access to waste with a higher unit value.
Economic activities
Street pickers concentrate their picking activities mainly on slums, industrial areas and
residential areas and institutions. Three-quarters of them work seven days a week, the
others six days a week. There is a clear seasonal difference in the length of time they
work, as the rainy season makes picking difficult and the materials less valuable. They
carry their materials to a retail trader daily for sorting and selling.
Dump pickers concentrate on their one site, to which they gain access by paying Rs 10
daily to the municipal officials at the dumpsite. They pick a variety of waste materials
and sort and sell it on the same day to retail traders Transportation is another important
cost, as they are not allowed on public transportation with their materials. Some hire