Structural Integration of the Informal Sector in Municipal Solid Waste Management

Tunisia – case studyISWA / RDN / EXPRA Workshop

Bucharest, October 9th 2014

Who are we?

2002 – GP is registered as a Romanian private and

independent company that provides environmental

consultancy services to authorities and industry and

business development in various fields of expertise.

2009 – GP together with 4 more consulting companies

register the RWA as a UK company with a specialised

track record in waste management, resource efficiency

and associated advisory and consultancy services. RWA

provides support to design and implementation of

integrated resources and WM projects.

Why integrating/formalizing the IRS?

Informal Recycling Sector (IRS) is more active and effective in

recovering and valorising resources that the formal sector in low

and middle income countries

Our experience in working with the IRS

• Green Partners and RWA have extensive proven experience in

working with the IRS:

- facilitating discussions

- opening communication channels

- initiate debates and challenges

- institutional development and capacity building

- developing and analyzing integration/formalization options

- Legislation, policy and economic instruments design and

implementation

- Community mobilisation and public awareness

Our own garden – Pata Rat

- Study on the economic impacts

of the IRS in waste

management in 2006

- Challenges of sustainable and

Affordable Modernization in the

Solid Waste Sector conference

in 2008

- Currently there are approximately 1000 persons living on the

landfill and its vicinities

- Most of them are participating in SWM activities as waste pickers

IRS in Tunisia - case study

Background

• This project is financed by the BMZ (German Federal Ministry for

Economic Cooperation and Development) through the Fund for

Good Governance in the MENA Region.

• Project activities ccontributes to the objective of the regional

network for integrated SWM – SWEEP-Net in MENA region. Another

SWEEP-Net study is focusing on the Middle East region SWM

practices.

• The project implementation is done by RWA - January 2014 until

June 2015.

Background – project objectives

• The project has a participatory approach having the

following objectives:

-improving the living and working conditions of the

informal sector through its structural integration;

- establishing sustainable income generation and

- enhancing efficiency of local waste management

schemes,

Background

• Institutional setup and EPR in

Tunisia: Eco-Lef - the Tunisian EPR

system from 2001 for post-consumer

packaging waste

• Municipal waste collection services:

poor level of services

• The IS by collecting and recycling

part of the municipal waste stream

at no cost to the municipality

represents an economic benefit to

the municipality

EPR Scheme in Tunisia

5%

Responsibilities

Waste management sector

ANGed

EPR schemeTransport

Treatment and disposalTransfer station

Municipality

Collection

ANGed – National Agency for Waste Management

Current situation – informal sector

• 15,000 t of PET per year recycled, 67% by

the informal sector

• 5000-6000 t of non-ferrous metals per

year is recycled

• 3,600 t paper and cardboard per year,

About 8000 people are involved in informal recycling in Tunisia. They work

in the collection of recyclable materials from landfills or by crisscrossing

the streets of major cities of the country.

Categories of waste pickers

• Professional waste pickers

In this category there are the street pickers and the pickers who are

collecting exclusively from the new landfill in La Marsa. They guide the trucks

arriving on landfill and then they are sorting recyclables, selecting them and

selling them to carriers that come up directly on the discharge points. They

earn on average 30 DT/day

Categories of waste pickers

• Semi-professional waste pickers

These persons have between 2 and 10 years of work experience in the field of

waste recycling. They sum up to half the total number of waste pickers. There

are those who already have a motorcycle, those who have bikes with trailers,

and those who are still using the hand cart, or even the wheelbarrow. They

have irregular income of about 10-15 DT/day

Categories of waste pickers

• Waste pickers belonging to vulnerable groups

These persons have between 2 and 10 years of work experience in the field of

waste recycling. They sum up to half the total number of waste pickers. There

are those who already have a motorcycle, those who have bikes with trailers,

and those who are still using the hand cart, or even the wheelbarrow. They

have irregular income of about 10-15 DT/day

Categories of waste pickers

• Women barbéchas

They have no means of motorized transportation and often they only have a

wheelbarrow or even nothing at all. They rarely earn more than ten dinars a

day. They find themselves doing this job after becoming a widow or due to a

disabled husband.

Categories of waste pickers

Current situation – informal sector

• Types of recycling materials collected

include:

• 5% all types of waste

• 75% plastic and aluminum cans

• 10% paper/ cardboard

• 2% textiles

• 8% other streams (batteries, wood,

etc).

Current situation – value chain

• There are two parallel competing systems for recycling, ANGED’s

Ecolef system (EPR system), and the private recycling value

chain, both of which are supplied by waste pickers and others

like NGOs and small junk shops.

Current situation – other stakeholders

Informal Sector

Municipality (Private

operator)

Citizens ANGED

Pilot measures - needs

For all pilot there are some similar actions that that are required in all

selected pilot zones, these include the need for an agreement, awareness

raising, monitoring and raising investment financing.

Organisational

Logistics/ technical

pilot arezoning

collection frequency equipment

needcriteria for

access to pilot projects

Financing

Financing investment adn operation

Pilot measures for integration

1. Door-to-door collection of source

separated dry fraction

2. Door-to-door primary collection of

source separated wet and dry

fraction

3. Improving communal collection

points including cages

Currently we’re mapping and

understanding all technical details in the

field

Pilot measures – collection of dry fraction

- Waste pickers going from door to door of

households and buying or collecting for free

dry recyclables, especially PET and other

plastic.

Issues

- Door bell or schedule

- Zones and routes

- Registration of waste pickers and criteria

- Badges, uniforms, equipment

- Need for motorized equipment micro-credits

- Revenues

Pilot measures – collection of wet and dry fraction- The waste pickers have the right over the recycleables and drop wet waste

in communal containers

Issues

- Door bell or schedule

- Districts, Zones and routes

- Registration of waste pickers

- Badges, uniforms, equipment

- Need for motorized equipment

- Changes to municipal communal containers infrastructure

- Revenues and willingness to pay

Pilot measures – communal collection points

- Waste pickers own/administer/have access to cages or communal

containersn and an obligation to keep the communal collection point

clean

• cages system

• Informal sector was not interested in this option

Issues

- Cleanliness and customer satisfaction

- Efficiency and financial sustainability

- Difficulties in seperation of tasks

- Assigning collection points, registration, criteria

- Badges, uniforms. Equipment

- Changes to municipal infrastructure

Challenges- Challenges are different for the two municipalities

- There are various interferences in the value chain between ANGed

(Ecolef) and private operators

- There are conflicts between formal and informal workers due to access

to waste

- Different interests and perspectives

- Legal issues: patent

- Increased earning potential may attracting more people at the bottom

of the chain while enforcing the chain

- Access to credit, uniforms, equipment

Research studies/publications

2006: Economic Aspects of the Informal

Sector in Solid Waste Management

2008: Challenges of sustainable and

Affordable Modernization in the Solid Waste

Sector;

2010: Egyptian National Solid Waste

Management Programme document

2012: Global Extended Producer

Responsibility-Informal Sector in Waste

Management

2014: Operator Models in Low and Middle

Income Countries.

Conclusions- The IRS needs to be taken into account when developing SWM

strategies, policies and programmes;

- Donors/IFI are keen on working towards the integration/formalisation of waste pickers;

- the informal sector creates social benefits and indirect economic and environmental benefits for the municipality;

- Working with the informal sector is possible and could be seen as one form of private sector participation.

- Many options for integration, still room for analysing their advantages and disadvantages

- Questions and open discussions

Cosmin Briciucosmin@rwagroup.netwww.rwagroup.net Tel: +40 746 775171

www.greenpartners.rocosmin.briciu@greenpartners.roFantanele 18, 400294, Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaTel. +40 264 589291, Fax: +40 264 585585

Thank you for your attention