Pros and cons of the formation of waste-pickers’ cooperatives: a comparison between Brazil and Indonesia

Abstract

Informal waste-pickers can contribute to municipal solid waste management by significantly reducing the amount of waste that ends up in landfills or lies unattended in streets and watercourses, and they can recover important resources. We want to build on recent studies on the role of informal waste-pickers by highlighting one particular aspect: the degree waste-pickers are organized into cooperatives. Stimulated by the paradox that, despite the apparent advantages of waste-picker cooperatives, not all waste-pickers in the cities are members of a cooperative, we have made a comparative study of waste-picking in Belo Horizonte (Brazil) and Surabaya (Indonesia). We focus on three aspects: waste as an (economic) resource, the low social status of waste-pickers, and their role in urban solid waste management. We shall argue that not only do cooperatives have positive effects on waste-picking but there are also negative consequences.