Waste picking as a survival strategy for women in Indian cities

This case study, based on interviews with lower caste Tamil women waste pickers in Bangalore from 1989-1990, describes their work, their earnings, and the difficulties they face. The paper also includes a description of the Garbage Recycling and Segregation Programme (GRASP) in Pune with recommendations for governments and NGOs. This paper details the types of work the women had before, their reasons for changing to the scavenging of paper and plastics, their need for a daily rather than a monthly income, husbands contribution to family income and use of alcohol, and the advantages and disadvantages of waste picking. It shows that despite low earnings, poor housing, insufficient facilities, an unhygienic environment, lack of access to education and medical care, and the negative effects on their children, waste picking offers one of the few ways for low caste women to earn an income and also meet their household and child-rearing responsibilities. Specific details of these topics are enhanced by charts, tables on working hours and income, and an account of a day in the life of a woman waste picker. The paper also describes the GRASP project whose goal was to ensure the safe and secure access to waste by the separation and collection of waste at household source. This description examines the difficulties encountered, the advantages for the women in forming unions, and future developments of the project. it ends with recommendations that the waste pickers should be recognized as caretakers of the urban environment and that both governments and NGOs should improve their working and living conditions and their job security.