Formality and informality in an Indian urban waste economy

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute original evidence about the conditions for formal and informal contracts for commodities and labour in the waste economy of a South Indian town. Design/methodology/approach: Field research was exploratory, based on snowball sampling and urban traversing. The analysis follows capital and labour in the sub-circuits of capital generating waste in production, distribution, consumption, the production of labour and the reproduction of society. Findings: Regardless of legal regulation, which is selectively enforced, formal contracts are limited to active inspection regimes; direct transactions with or within the state; and long-distance transactions. Formal labour contracts are least incomplete for state employment, and for relatively scarce skilled labour in the private sector. Research limitations/implications: The research design does not permit quantified generalisations. Practical implications: Waste management technology evaluations neglect the social costs of displacing a large informal labour force. Social implications: While slowly dissolving occupational barriers of untouchability, the waste economy is a low-status labour absorber of last resort, exit from which is extremely difficult. Originality/value: The first systematic exploration of formal and informal contracts in an Indian small-town waste economy.