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Barriers to Inclusive Recycling in Asunción, Paraguay: A Just Transition?

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  • Jennifer L. Tucker

Abstract

How can cities upgrade urban waste infrastructures while also supporting the livelihoods of the poor? While development experts now agree that informal recyclers should be included in urban waste systems, many cities struggle to implement inclusive reforms. With a case study of informal recycling in Asunción, Paraguay, which compares dumpsite and street recyclers, this article addresses a gap in the literature by focusing on the policies, politics and frameworks that inhibit the implementation of pro‐poor reforms. Proposals to include waste pickers misunderstand key dynamics of informal waste work and locate waste‐picker cultures as the key barrier to successful waste‐picker integration. However, they overlook the historical production of waste‐picker organizing styles and underappreciate the diversity between different groups of informal recyclers. They seek to institute cooperatives, a promising model for segments of highly organized recyclers but one which threatens to exclude a large share of waste pickers who opt to work individually. Successfully integrating informal recyclers into waste management requires significant investments in the sector, meaningfully including waste pickers in proposal design and an epistemic shift to prioritize waste‐picker needs.

Suggested Citation

  • Jennifer L. Tucker, 2024. "Barriers to Inclusive Recycling in Asunción, Paraguay: A Just Transition?," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 55(2), pages 276-301, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:devchg:v:55:y:2024:i:2:p:276-301
    DOI: 10.1111/dech.12819
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Manuel Rosaldo, 2022. "The Antinomies of Successful Mobilization: Colombian Recyclers Manoeuvre between Dispossession and Exploitation," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 53(2), pages 251-278, March.
    2. Jennifer Lee Tucker & Ryan Thomas Devlin, 2019. "Uncertainty and the Governance of Street Vending: A Critical Comparison Across the North/South Divide," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(3), pages 460-475, May.
    3. Amrita Chhachhi & Jan Breman & Marcel Linden, 2014. "Informalizing the Economy: The Return of the Social Question at a Global Level," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 45(5), pages 920-940, September.
    4. Michela Giovannini & Benjamin Huybrechts, 2017. "How inclusive is inclusive recycling? Recyclers’ perspectives on a cross-sector partnership in Santiago de Chile," Post-Print hal-02312084, HAL.
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