Recycling of organic waste
Practical Action
Where the informal sector carries out reclamation activities there is also a direct benefit to the
municipality. A reduction in the quantity of refuse to be collected means a proportional reduction in
the collection costs. Some progressive authorities actually encourage collection by members of the
informal sector and will provide facilities to aid community recycling, as it is realised that it is
cheaper than collection and disposal of waste. The municipality also often realise the value of
contracting the work of collection and disposal to private companies. In Bogota, a city of 4 million
people in Colombia with a waste generation level of 0.5kg per capita per day, it has been estimated
that the cost of public waste collection is approximately US$35 per tonne whereas the private
sector can make the collection for US$17 per tonne, less than half the cost.
There is often a health benefit when the municipality supports the local informal sector in recycling
activities. With proper facilities for collection and processing of waste, many of the health hazards
associated with this work can be removed or reduced.
Where the refuse collection activities are carried out by members of the informal sector, this is
usually characterised by a complex network of interrelated activities. There is usually a hierarchy of
scavengers, collectors, middlemen, dealers, small-scale recycling activities, micro-enterprise, etc.
One of the most institutionalised scavenging systems in the world exists in Cairo, Egypt. There, a
group of former oasis dwellers, called Wahis, have controlled garbage collection for the last 100
years. Another group, the Zabaleen, pay a fee to the Wahi for the right to collect garbage. The
Zabaleen, with less than one third of the staff of the municipal sanitation department, collect 1,600
tons of trash each day to the cities 1,450 tons. Even so, 15% of the cities rubbish piles up in the
streets. The Zabaleen haul home the day’s receipts in donkey carts. Later, in residential courtyards,
the women and children of the household sort the trash. Organic materials feed the pigs – their
primary income earners – while glass, paper, plastics, metal and cloth are sold. A report has
suggested that systematic garbage collection by the city would cost more than the entire municipal
budget. Without the Zabaleen, much of the city’s waste would simply not be collected (Worldwatch
Paper 76).
References and further reading
McHarry, Jan, Reuse Repair Recycle, Gaia Books Ltd. 1993. A valuable source book aimed
at reducing wastage by thrift. Aimed mainly at a western audience but with many
references applicable to the developing world.
Lardinois, I., and Klundert, A van de, Organic Waste – Options for Small-scale Resource
Recovery, Urban Solid Waste Series, TOOL / WASTE Consultants, 1993. The focus of this
book is on the recovery of urban organic waste, in developing countries, through activities
such as animal raising, composting, the production of biogas and briquetting.
Franceys, R., A guide to the development of on-site sanitation. WHO 1992. Provides in-
depth technical information about the design, construction, operation and maintenance of
on-site sanitation facilities, with numerous practical design examples.
Karekezi, S. and Ranja, T., Renewable Energy Technologies in Africa, AFREPEN, 1997.
Pollock, Cynthia, Worldwatch paper – Mining Urban Wastes: The Potential for Recycling,
Worldwatch Institute 1987.
GATE – questions, answers, information, No 3/89, GTZ 1989
Guttentag, Robert M., Recycling and waste management guide to the internet, Government
Institutes, 4 Research Place Suite 200, Rockville, MD 20850, USA. Email
giinfo@govinst.com ISBN 0-86587-582-0.
Decentralised Composting for Cities of Low- and Middle-Income Countries. A Users'
Manual. Rothenberger, S., Zurbrugg, C., Enayettullah, I. and Sinha, M.A.H. 2006,
SANDEC and Waste Concern, Bangladesh.
Marketing Compost. A guide for compost producers in low and middle-income countries.
Rouse, J.R., Rothenberger, S., and Zurbrugg, C. 2008. SANDEC, (EAWAG)
Recycling Organic Waste Practical Action Technical Brief
Managing Organic Municipal Waste Practical Action Technical Brief
Vogler, J. Jobs from Junks, and Work from Waste Practical Action Publishing
8