GOVERNMENT,MARKET AND COMMUNITY IN URBAN SOLID WASTE 265
In Nairobi, the lack of coordination is a much bigger problem. There is a situation of
open competition among a variety of operators, ranging from respectable firms to
brief-case enterprises. Furthermore, a regulatory framework to oversee private service
operators as well as an official monitoring institution are absent. Although the lack of
organisation may offer attractive opportunities for informal ingenuity and entrepre-
neurship, it also constitutes an immense threat to the public interest.
A system weakness that could be observed in both cities comes from the lack of coor-
dination within the SWM sector. In policies the emphasis is always on collection and
disposal, while the potentials of reducing waste flows through recycling and reuse are
hardly recognised, if at all. In the realm of SWC this is most apparent in the absence
of official guidelines and facilities to enhance waste separation at source. In Nairobi,
no such thing as a coherent SWM policy exists. The limited input of the NCC seems
to be dictated by particularistic and political motives, albeit under the disguise of envi-
ronmental health promotion. There is hardly any attempt to move beyond SWC and to
integrate collection with the recycling and reuse business. Both the positive and
negative externalities of collaboration across the boundaries of the three domains are
purely coincidental. In Hyderabad, a coherent policy on SWM is also absent. The
authorities seem to be preoccupied with conventional concerns for environmental
health, and service efficiency and effectiveness. In their privatisation policy no atten-
tion is given to the recycling and reuse of (in)organic waste materials. Nevertheless,
conditions to merge perspectives seem to be more favourable. In the VGDS, supported
by the MCH, an attempt is being made to combine classic SWC concerns with broader
socio-economic and environmental goals.
In general a certain degree of antagonism could be observed between waste collection
workers (either in private or public service) and waste pickers searching for valuable
materials. The latter are accused of making the work of collectors and sweepers more
demanding because of littering around collection points related to waste sorting and
because they remove valuable waste components that could otherwise be recovered by
collection crews. The more organized and regulated the SWC system, the more the
livelihood of waste pickers is jeopardized. The fewer the opportunities for waste
pickers to sort and trade waste, the larger the volume of mixed waste that reaches the
final disposal site.
Recycling and reuse of inorganic waste: contextual factors
First of all, it has to be kept in mind that the statements below are confined to the trade
and recycling of common materials from households, shops and institutions. Industrial
recyclables, for example, were not taken into consideration.
Different regulatory frameworks affect collection, trade and waste recycling as they
are carried out in commodity chains dominated by enterprises using waste as raw