Vol. 9 No. 4 (2022)
Space and Culture, India

Research

Livelihood Status and Health Condition of Waste Pickers in Sylhet City Corporation: A Study

Published 2022-03-29

  • Krittebas Paul
    • ,
  • Priyanka Bhattacharjee

Krittebas Paul
Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh

Priyanka Bhattacharjee
Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh

Abstract

Urban poor are engaged in waste picking in the city areas of Bangladesh, as it requires no skills and experience. Though several studies have been conducted on waste management, the livelihood of waste pickers remains unexplored. So, this study has been undertaken to investigate the livelihood and health status of the informal waste pickers living in the Sylhet City Corporation, Bangladesh using the five capitals of the sustainable livelihood framework. To achieve the study objectives, at first, purposively selected one hundred waste pickers were surveyed. Then, to substantiate quantitative data gathered by the survey, ten in-depth interviews and a focus group discussion (FGD) were conducted. This study found that the vulnerabilities of waste pickers in the city area are the consequences of their poor education and lack of skills, lower earnings, miserable living and working conditions, lower social status, and no access to social services. In addition, they face chronic injuries and occupational health risks, but they are not aware of this. As a result, they cannot maintain a standard of living by their efforts. So, Government and non-government organisations should recognise their contribution and take necessary steps for improving their livelihood and health status.

Keywords

Waste Pickers, Sustainable Livelihood Approach, Health Condition, Sylhet, Bangladesh

pdf

References

  1. Ahmed, M. F., & Rahman, M. M. (2000). Water Supply and Sanitation: Rural and low-income urban communities, ITN-Bangladesh. Center for water supply and waste management, BUET, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 191-195.
  2. Ahmmed, F. & Hossain, M. (2016). A Study Report on Working Conditions of Tea Plantation Workers in Bangladesh. ILO Country Office for Bangladesh, Dhaka. http://www.ilo.int/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---ilo-dhaka/documents/publication/wcms_563692.pdf
  3. Ahsan, A., Alamgir, M., El-Sergany, M., Shams, S., Rowshon, M., & Daud, N. (2014). Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste Management System in a Developing Country. Chinese Journal Of Engineering, 2014, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/561935. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/561935
  4. Al-Khatib, I., Al-Sari’, M., & Kontogianni, S. (2020). Assessment of Occupational Health and Safety among Scavengers in Gaza Strip, Palestine. Journal Of Environmental and Public Health, 2020, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/3780431. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/3780431
  5. Ashikuzzaman, M., & Howlader, M. (2020). Sustainable Solid Waste Management in Bangladesh. Advances in Environmental Engineering and Green Technologies, 35-55. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-0198-6.ch002. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-0198-6.ch002
  6. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.(2019).
  7. Bangladesh Statistics 2019. https://bbs.portal.gov.bd/sites/default/files/files/bbs.portal.gov.bd/page/a1d32f13_8553_44f1_92e6_8ff80a4ff82e/2020-05-15-09-25-dccb5193f34eb8e9ed1780511e55c2cf.pdf
  8. Benjamin, S. (2007). Rapid assessment on scavenging and waste recycling work by children in South Africa. Department of Labour and International Labour Organisation (ILO), Pretoria, South Africa. https://www.academia.edu/3546866/A_Rapid_Assessment_of_Scavenging_and_Waste_Recycling_Work_by_Children_in_South_Africa
  9. Carenbauer, M. (2021). Essential or dismissible? Exploring the challenges of waste pickers in relation to COVID-19. Geoforum, 120, 79-81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2021.01.018 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2021.01.018
  10. Das, T. K., Bhattacharyya, R., Alam, M. F., & Pervin, A. (2016). Domestic violence in Sylhet, Bangladesh: Analysing the experiences of abused women. Social change, 46(1), 106-123. https://doi.org/10.1177/0049085715618561 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0049085715618561
  11. Department for International Development. (1999). Sustainable livelihoods guidance sheets. https://www.ennonline.net/attachments/871/dfid-sustainable-livelihoods-guidance-sheet-section1.pdf
  12. Dias, S. (2012). Not to be taken for granted: What informal waste pickers offer the urban economy. The Global Urbanist. http://globalurbanist.com/2012/11/27/waste-pickers
  13. Dias, S.M. (2016). Waste pickers and cities. Environment and Urbanisation, 28(2), 375–390. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0956247816657302 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247816657302
  14. Gutberlet, J., & Baeder, A. (2008). Informal recycling and occupational health in Santo André, Brazil. International Journal Of Environmental Health Research, 18(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/09603120701844258 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09603120701844258
  15. Guerrero, L. A., Maas, G., & Hogland, W. (2013). Solid waste management challenges for cities in developing countries. Waste Management, 33(1), 220-232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2012.09.008 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2012.09.008
  16. Kagan, C. & Scott-Roberts, S. (2002). Family based intervention for children with Cerebral Palsy and their inclusion in the community project from the perspectives of occupational therapy and community psychology. [online] https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/24637
  17. Kaza, S., Yao, L., Bhada-Tata, P., & Van Woerden, F. (2018). What a Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050. Washington, DC: World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/30317 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-1329-0
  18. Kistan, J., Ntlebi, V., Made, F., Kootbodien, T., Wilson, K., Tlotleng, N., Kgalamono, S., Mathee, A., & Naicker, N. (2020). Health care access of informal waste recyclers in Johannesburg, South Africa. PLOS ONE, 15(7), e0235173. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235173 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235173
  19. Krantz, L. (2001). The sustainable livelihood approach to poverty reduction. SIDA.[online] https://www.sida.se/contentassets/bd474c210163447c9a7963d77c64148a/the-sustainable-livelihood-approach-to-poverty-reduction_2656.pdf
  20. Leahy, S. (2018, May 18 ). “How People Make Only a Jar of Trash a Year”. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/zero-waste-families-plastic-culture
  21. Medina, M. (2000). Scavenger cooperatives in Asia and Latin America. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 31(1),51–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-3449(00)00071-9 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-3449(00)00071-9
  22. Medina, M. (2005). Serving the unserved: informal refuse collection in Mexico. Waste Management & Research: The Journal For A Sustainable Circular Economy, 23(5), 390-397. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734242x05057698. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0734242X05057698
  23. Moreno-Sanchez, R., & Maldonado, J. (2006). Surviving from garbage: The role of informal waste-pickers in a dynamic model of solid-waste management in developing countries. Environment and Development Economics, 11(3), 371-391. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355770X06002853 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355770X06002853
  24. Mothiba, M., Moja, S., & Loans, C. (2017). A Review of the Working Conditions and Health Status of Waste Pickers at Some Landfill Sites in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa. Advances in Applied Science Research, 8(3), 90-97. http://www.dust-monitoring-equipment.com/Mathema%20Mothiba%20Published%20article.pdf
  25. Ojeda-Benitez, S., Armijo-de-Vega, C., & Ramı́rez-Barreto, M. (2002). Formal and informal recovery of recyclables in Mexicali, Mexico: Handling alternatives. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 34(4), 273-288. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0921-3449(01)00105-7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-3449(01)00105-7
  26. Omotoso, K. (2017). Informal waste recycling activities: Implications for livelihood and health. African Journal Of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 9(6), 785-793. https://doi.org/10.1080/20421338.2017.1380584 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/20421338.2017.1380584
  27. Rahman, M.Z., Siwar, C. & Begum, R.A.(2017). Achieving Sustainable Livelihood Through Solid Waste Management in Dhaka City. International Journal of GEOMATE, 12(30), pp.19-27. http://dx.doi.org/10.21660/2017.30.160618 DOI: https://doi.org/10.21660/2017.30.160618
  28. Rahman, M. A. (2017). E-waste management: A study on legal framework and institutional preparedness in Bangladesh. North South University. http://www.northsouth.edu/newassets/files/ppgresearch/PPG_5th_Batch/14.Anis_E-waste_Management. Pdf.
  29. Schenck, C., Blaauw, P., Swart, E., Viljoen, J., & Mudavanhu, N. (2018). The management of South Africa’s landfills and waste pickers on them: Impacting lives and livelihoods. Development Southern Africa, 36(1), 80-98. https://doi.org/10.1080/0376835x.2018.1483822 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0376835X.2018.1483822
  30. Schenck, C.J., Blaauw, P.F., Viljoen, J.M. & Swart, E.C. (2019). Exploring the Potential Health Risks Faced by Waste Pickers on Landfills in South Africa: A Socio-Ecological Perspective. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(11),2059. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16112059 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16112059
  31. Tobin, D., Holroyd, K., Reynolds, R., & Wigal, J. (1989). The hierarchical factor structure of the coping strategies inventory. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 13(4), 343-361. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01173478. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01173478
  32. Uddin, S., Gutberlet, J., Ramezani, A., & Nasiruddin, S. (2020). Experiencing the Everyday of Waste Pickers: A Sustainable Livelihoods and Health Assessment in Dhaka City, Bangladesh. Journal of International Development, 32(6), 833-853. https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3479 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3479
  33. Wiego.org. (2013). Waste Pickers: The Right to Be Recognized as Workers. https://www.wiego.org/sites/default/files/resources/files/WIEGO-Waste-Pickers-Position-Paper.pdf.
  34. Wilson, D., Velis, C., & Cheeseman, C. (2006). Role of informal sector recycling in waste management in developing countries. Habitat International, 30(4), 797-808. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2005.09.005 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2005.09.005
  35. Wittmer, J. (2021). “We live and we do this work”: Women waste pickers’ experiences of wellbeing in Ahmedabad, India. World Development, 140, 105253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105253 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105253
  36. Yasmin, S. & Rahman, M.I. (2017). A Review of Solid Waste Management Practice in Dhaka City, Bangladesh. International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy, 5(2), 19. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20170502.11 DOI: https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20170502.11

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.