Moda actual: ​look​, estilo de vida, horizontalidad y valor aspiracional

Martin Medina has categorised (classified) public policy towards waste pickers according to the ap-proach of the state, depending on the perceptions of this activity. As indicated in the previous chapter, policies regarding waste pickers in developing countries differ significantly. The approach authorities take range from exclusion to inclusion. Medina found four main approaches (from negative to posi-tive): repression, neglect, collusion, and stimulation.³⁴⁶

(1) Repression: In many developing countries, the prevailing view is that informal waste picking is inhuman, a symbol of backwardness, and a source of embarrassment and shame for the city or coun-try. Therefore it has been declared illegal and punished in many Third World cities, like in several Colombian and Philippine localities. Typical of repressive policies are restrictions and a hostile atti-tude towards reclaimers. An example for this is the ban of donkey carts used by the Zabbaleen to transport wastes by Cairo authorities.³⁴⁷ South Africa‘s phasing out of landfill salvaging partly falls into this category and partly into the next, which was confirmed by the findings at the CPL site.

346 Medina, ‗Waste picker cooperatives in developing countries‘, p. 16

347 Ibid.

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(2) Neglect: Where there is no ‗active‘ repression, authorities often just ignore waste pickers and turn them adrift. There is no persecution, but also no help whatsoever. This policy of neglect towards waste pickers can be observed in African cities like Dakar (Senegal), Bamako (Mali), and Cotonou (Benin). Thus, a policy of neglect is typified by indifference towards waste pickers and their activi-ties.³⁴⁸

(3) Collusion: This category is basically about the use/abuse of waste pickers by officials. In some cases government officials build relationships of exploitation or of mutual profit and mutual assis-tance (relationships of political clientelism) with waste pickers. Mexico City is an example of this form of relationship, where there is collusion between authorities and waste pickers‘ leaders, which include the payment of bribes to government officials or the ‗sale‘ of refuse collection routes in wealthy neighbourhoods. Waste pickers have been used in political conflicts by for instance beating up anti-government demonstrators. In essence, in this case the Mexican government gets bribes and political support from waste pickers, and waste pickers obtain legitimacy and stability in their opera-tions.³⁴⁹

(4) Stimulation: In the past years, the attitude towards waste pickers in developing countries has be-gun to change, which is reflected in some more progressive policies. It has been pointed out before that a one-to-one transfer of industrialised nation solutions for waste management to developing countries often does not consider the prevailing conditions in these countries. Consequently, Ameri-can and European waste management technology is frequently ill-suited for the application in devel-oping countries and results in repeated failure. This coupled with rising environmental awareness has resulted in a change of policies towards waste pickers. By realising the economic, social, and envi-ronmental benefits of reclaiming and recycling, governments have started to change their previous attitude of opposition, indifference or tolerance, to one of active support. Supportive policies include legalisation of waste picking activities, encouraging the formation of waste picker cooperatives (e.g.

in Indonesia and Brazil), the awarding of contracts for collection of mixed wastes and / or recyclables (as in some Colombian towns), to the formation of public-private partnerships between local authori-ties and waste pickers (as in some Brazilian ciauthori-ties).³⁵⁰

If there are policies that particularly deal with (or mention) waste pickers, they are often antagonistic to reality and the needs of the people. This finds its expression in policies directed towards the

348 Ibid.

349 Ibid., p. 17

350 Ibid., p. 17

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nation of reclaiming by enacting bans, at times accompanied by efforts to find alternate employment for the waste pickers. This approach derives from a general lack of acknowledging the realities and a general ignorance about the costs and benefits of waste picking. Yet examples (like in India and Bra-zil) have shown that a supportive approach, for instance the encouragement to form waste picker co-operatives, can result in grassroots development, poverty alleviation, and environmental protection.

On the other hand, repressive, neglectful or collusive policies often have adverse effects on the work-ing and livwork-ing conditions of waste pickers. Medina rightly concludes that a policy shift is necessary as efforts to eliminate waste picking and/or to encourage waste pickers to engage in other occupations are doomed to fail: ―Scavenging in developing countries is caused by chronic poverty, high unem-ployment, industrial demand for recyclables, and by the lack of a safety net for the poor. None of the-se factors is likely to disappear in the forethe-seeable future and scavenging is likely to continue to ex-ist.‖³⁵¹

The problem is that authorities generally ignore the opinions of the waste pickers, which explains the generally poor policies. Moreover, solid waste management plans and development efforts aimed at eliminating waste picking often have adverse effects on the livelihoods of the waste pickers, for ex-ample when landfill salvaging is banned (the productivity of dumpsite pickers – measured in the amount of materials collected per day – is generally higher than that of street waste pickers; therefore, if landfill picking is banned and reclaimers have to fall back on street waste picking, their income decreases). In addition, authorities fail to see the potential although studies have found that in cases of toleration or support for reclaiming, waste pickers can earn higher incomes than unskilled, formal sector workers. Another important factor in the economic dimension is that a substantial percentage of waste pickers would be unable to find a job in the formal sector, due to their low educational level, their young or advanced age and the like. At the study site a gang or prison history makes a number of males ―unemployable‖. Moreover, even if some waste pickers would get a formal sector job or took on another occupation, they would be quickly replaced by other poor individuals. As long as there is widespread poverty and unemployment in developing countries, there will always be people moving up and filling the ―vacancies‖.

From these points follows that policies which include waste pickers rather than exclude them from SWM – and which aim at helping waste pickers to achieve a better existence – are desirable. Improv-ing efforts to support waste pickers to organise, to obtain higher incomes, and to improve their work-ing and livwork-ing conditions also have larger economic and environmental benefits.³⁵² It is in this light

351 Ibid., p. 18

352 Ibid., p. 19

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that the following section on SWM policies in South Africa will be examined. The section will move from the macro to the micro level, that is, from national to provincial to municipal legislation. In ad-dition, some comparisons to international examples will be drawn, with a focus on progressive poli-cies in Brazil and India.