Informal Sector Recyclers: Inclusion for More Sustainable Waste Management
| dc.contributor.author | Bursch, Frances Maloney | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2014-08-26T18:53:05Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2014-08-26T18:53:05Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2014-06 | |
| dc.description | 78 pages. A thesis presented to the Department of International Studies and the Clark Honors College of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for degree of Bachelor of Arts, Spring 2014. | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | Though invisible to most, unsustainable waste production and management lie at the epicenter of the planets' two most pressing challenges today: climate change and the impending exhaustion of natural resources. An unlikely community in Santiago, Dominican Republic has assumed an important role in extracting recyclable material from the waste stream for recycling. Recyclers (also known as waste-pickers or scavengers) make their livings salvaging recyclable materials from the waste streamusually from landfills- and selling it back into the market to be recycled. The work of recyclers around the world has positive environmental impacts, reducing methane emissions by minimizing the amount of material ending up in landfills, as well as reducing the necessity for the extraction of virgin materials. Locally, recyclers in Santiago do important work diverting about 3 percent of the total waste back into the market every day. Recyclers have the potential to even more effectively improve the sustainability and reduce health detriments of the waste management system through increased collaboration with the municipality. Research was conducted by way of 50 interviews in the neighborhoods closest to the landfill. Results demonstrate that though recyclers work in the industry for the income it provides them, they are aware of the positive environmental impacts they have. Data exposes the important information that extreme poverty and environmental awareness are not mutually exclusive. With increased understanding of the recyclers, formal inclusion and thus improvements in the quality of life of the recyclers and the efficiency and sustain ability of the waste management system are more likely. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1794/18040 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | en_US |
| dc.publisher | University of Oregon | en_US |
| dc.relation.ispartofseries | University of Oregon theses, Dept. of International Studies, Honors College, B.A., 2014; | |
| dc.rights | All Rights Reserved. | en_US |
| dc.subject | Recycling | en_US |
| dc.subject | Informal Recycling | en_US |
| dc.subject | Dominican Republic | en_US |
| dc.subject | Scavengers | en_US |
| dc.subject | Waste Management | en_US |
| dc.subject | Sustainable | en_US |
| dc.subject | Landfill | en_US |
| dc.title | Informal Sector Recyclers: Inclusion for More Sustainable Waste Management | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis / Dissertation | en_US |