Surviving in the informal economy or victim to externalized harm? A comparative analysis of waste management in Porto Alegre (Brazil) and Accra (Ghana)

Given the increasing world population and our increasing consumption, waste is an issue that has great impact on the livability of urban areas. A massive industry deals with recycling and disposal of all that is discarded. These actors can work at local level, but waste is also traded on the global market. Waste became a true commodity in contemporary society. Besides formal actors also informal actors play a role. For these informal workers, economic profits, social recognition and working conditions can be very different. The general result is that in some parts of the world waste has changed from a useless residue to an economic resource; at the same time it is a health problem. The difference is often linked to the dismantling and recycling policies and practices. Particularly the disposal of hazardous waste has been referred to as problematic. This is illustrated by the illegal trade in hazardous waste (e.g. electronic waste) in which industrialized countries externalize the harm to developing regions of the world. In these developing countries there is often a multitude of workers who operate in the informal economy, transforming the management of waste in an important source of livelihood. A reaction to dealing with the illegal trade in waste and with the informal management of waste is traditionally one of a government reaction through regulation and enforcement. This risks neglecting the potential for empowered solutions to deal with waste management that have arisen in developing countries. In this paper, we focus on these informal actors in the global South, who have made waste management their source of income. They develop their economic activities on a local level, often with limited means, but nevertheless with a degree of organization. These actors are however part of the economic globalization as well, inherently connected to global trade. This paper brings together findings from case studies in two big cities in the global South: the trading, dismantling, recycling and refurbishing of generic waste and e-goods in the cities of Accra (Ghana) and Porto Alegre (Brazil). On the one hand, these workers can be considered victims (socially, economically and environmentally). On the other hand, there is also potential for creative solutions despite these unfavourable living and working conditions. This comparative case study analyses both of these aspects and explores the potential for engagement of these workers through grassroots organizations.