The Production of Space in the Informal Waste Economy. Waste Picking in the Tondo Manila Bay Area

Abstract

This study explores the dynamics of the informal waste economy in an informal settlement in Tondo, Manila, highlighting its role in shaping urban form. While waste pickers significantly contribute to solid waste management (SWM) through the recovery, recycling, and diversion of waste, they are constantly exposed to harmful environments and substandard living conditions that remain unaddressed by formal systems and urban planning. Additionally, their impact on urban form is frequently sidelined, despite operating within SWM – an urban system that is inherently spatial. To examine the spatial outcomes of informal waste sector (IWS) activities, the research examines the historical and geographic context of the Vitas Temporary Housing Facility in Tondo, the agency and networks of its waste pickers, and the spatial outcomes of their activities. Findings reveal that the waste picking community functions as an agglomerated informal economy operating as an informal materials recovery facility (MRF), with decentralized waste management activities integrated into residential and commercial spaces. This integration creates a unique urban landscape that highlights the need for sustainable, inclusive, and adaptive SWM solutions and urban planning strategies that consider the agency of waste pickers, the distribution of informal SWM functions within their networks, and the spatial organization of the urban environment they co-create within their communities.