The Production of Space in the Informal Waste Economy Waste Picking in the Tondo Manila Bay Area
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.main##
Abstract
This study explores the dynamics of the informal waste economy in an informal settlement in Tondo, Manila, highlighting its role in shaping urban form. While waste pickers significantly contribute to solid waste management (SWM) through the recovery, recycling, and diversion of waste, they are constantly exposed to harmful environments and substandard living conditions that remain unaddressed by formal systems and urban planning. Additionally, their impact on urban form is frequently sidelined, despite operating within SWM – an urban system that is inherently spatial. To examine the spatial outcomes of informal waste sector (IWS) activities, the research examines the historical and geographic context of the Vitas Temporary Housing Facility in Tondo, the agency and networks of its waste pickers, and the spatial outcomes of their activities. Findings reveal that the waste-picking community functions as an agglomerated informal economy operating as an informal materials recovery facility (MRF), with decentralized waste management activities integrated into residential and commercial spaces. This integration creates a unique urban landscape that highlights the need for sustainable, inclusive, and adaptive SWM solutions and urban planning strategies that consider the agency of waste pickers, the distribution of informal SWM functions within their networks, and the spatial organization of the urban environment they co-create within their communities.
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.details##
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The Authors retain copyright for articles published in The Journal of Public Space, with first publication rights granted to the journal.
Articles in this journal are published under the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial Licence (CC-BY-NC) - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.
You are free to:
• Share - copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
• Adapt - remix, transform, and build upon the material
Under the following terms:
• Attribution - You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
• NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
References
Abad, R. (1991) ‘Squatting and Scavenging in Smokey Mountain’, Philippine Studies, 39(3), pp. 263–286. Available at: http://www.philippinestudies.net/files/journals/1/articles/2916/public/2916-3191-1-PB.pdf.
AEA Technology (2003) ‘Metro Manila Solid Waste Managment Project (TA 3848-PHI) Final Report Report No. 4 Waste Disposal’, p. 304. Available at: https://nswmc.emb.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Report-4-Waste-Disposal.pdf (Accessed: 30 July 2024).
Asian Development Bank (2004) ‘The Garbage Book. Solid Waste Management in Metro Manila’, p. 99. Available at: https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/29301/garbage-book.pdf (Accessed: 30 July 2024).
Beltran, B.P. (1994) Smokey Mountain: Ravaged Earth and Wasted Lives. Edited by L.T. Hernandez. Manila: Alliance of Basic Christian Communities of Smokey Mountain.
Burcea, Ş.G. (2015) ‘THE ECONOMICAL, SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS OF INFOMAL WASTE COLLECTION AND RECYCLING’, 10(3), pp. 14–24. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24873532?seq=1&cid=pdf-.
Camarillo, M.E.C. and Bellotindos, L.M. (2021) ‘A study of policy implementation and community participation in the municipal solid waste management in the Philippines’, Applied Environmental Research, 43(2), pp. 30–45. Available at: https://doi.org/10.35762/AER.2021.43.2.3.
Charlton, S. (2014) ‘Waste Pickers/ Informal Recyclers’, in P. Harrison et al. (eds) Changing Space, Changing City: Johannesburg after apartheid. Wits University Press, pp. 539–545. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.18772/22014107656.36.
Choudhary, B.K. (2003) ‘Waste and Waste-Pickers’, Economic and Political Weekly, 38(50), pp. 5240–5242.
Congress of the Philippines (2000) RA 9003. Philippines: Congress of the Philippines. Available at: https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2001/01/26/republic-act-no-9003-s-2001/.
Coracero, E.E. et al. (2021) ‘A Long-Standing Problem: A Review on the Solid Waste Management in the Philippines’, Indonesian Journal of Social and Environmental Issues (IJSEI), 2(3), pp. 213–220. Available at: https://doi.org/10.47540/ijsei.v2i3.144.
Cruvinel, V.R.N. et al. (2019) ‘Waterborne diseases in waste pickers of Estrutural, Brazil, the second largest open-air dumpsite in world’, Waste Management, 99, pp. 71–78. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2019.08.035.
Davies, A.R. (2012) ‘Geography and the matter of waste mobilities’, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 37(2), pp. 191–196. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-5661.2011.00472.x.
Department of Public Works and Highways (2016) DPWH, Manila City Government, NGAS Clear R-10. Available at: https://www.dpwh.gov.ph/dpwh/news/561.
Department of Public Works and Highways (2018) DPWH intensifies drive vs roadside encroachment. Available at: https://www.dpwh.gov.ph/dpwh/news/13282.
Dias, S.M. (2016) ‘Waste pickers and cities’, Environment and Urbanization, 28(2), pp. 375–390. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247816657302.
Estioko, I. (1977) ‘The Tondo Foreshore Urban Renewal Project’, Philippine Sociological Review, (4), pp. 39–43.
Ezeah, C., Fazakerley, J.A. and Roberts, C.L. (2013) ‘Emerging trends in informal sector recycling in developing and transition countries’, Waste Management, pp. 2509–2519. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2013.06.020.
Gutberlet, J. et al. (2017a) ‘Bridging Weak Links of Solid Waste Management in Informal Settlements’, Journal of Environment and Development, 26(1), pp. 106–131. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1070496516672263.
Gutberlet, J. et al. (2017b) ‘Bridging Weak Links of Solid Waste Management in Informal Settlements’, Journal of Environment and Development, 26(1), pp. 106–131. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1070496516672263.
Harfadli, M.M. et al. (2024a) ‘Challenges and characteristics of the informal waste sector in developing countries: an overview’, Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management, 26, pp. 1294–1309. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-024-01929-3.
Harfadli, M.M. et al. (2024b) ‘Challenges and characteristics of the informal waste sector in developing countries: an overview’, Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management. Springer, pp. 1294–1309. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-024-01929-3.
Hartmann, C. (2018) ‘Waste picker livelihoods and inclusive neoliberal municipal solid waste management policies: The case of the La Chureca garbage dump site in Managua, Nicaragua’, Waste Management, 71, pp. 565–577. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.10.008.
Hartmann, C.D. (2012) ‘Uneven Urban Spaces: Accessing Trash in Managua, Nicaragua’, Source: Journal of Latin American Geography, 11(1), pp. 143–163.
Hoang, A.Q. et al. (2023) ‘A review on management practices, environmental impacts, and human exposure risks related to electrical and electronic waste in Vietnam: findings from case studies in informal e-waste recycling areas’, Environmental Geochemistry and Health. Springer Science and Business Media B.V., pp. 2705–2728. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-022-01408-4.
Landsberger, S. (2019) ‘The Human Factor – Garbage Pickers’, in Beijing Garbage. Amsterdam University Press, pp. 97–120. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvhrcz2t.7.
National Housing Authority (2008) ‘Vitas Temporary Housing Project Profile’. Quezon City: Internal government report. Unpublished.
National Housing Authority (2012) ‘SMOKEY MOUNTAIN DEVELOPMENT AND RECLAMATION PROJECT’. Internal government report. Unpublished.
Nesheim, I. et al. (2024) ‘Complex waste management in Myanmar: role of the actors, relationships, and social capital’, Environment, Development and Sustainability [Preprint]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-024-04546-0.
Nzeadibe, T.C. (2009) ‘Development Drivers of Waste Recycling in Nsukka Urban area, Southeastern Nigeria’, Theoretical and Empirical Researches in Urban Management, 4(3), pp. 137–149. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107415324.004.
Pottinger-Glass, C. et al. (2024) ‘Bangkok’s waste metabolism: barriers and opportunities for inclusive circularity’, Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management, 26(2), pp. 946–960. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-023-01872-9.
Rankokwane, B. and Gwebu, T.D. (2006) ‘Characteristics, threats and opportunities of landfill scavenging: The case of Gaborone-Botswana’, GeoJournal, 65(3), pp. 151–163. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s.
Ryan, V. and Galarpe, K.R. (2017) ‘Review on the Impacts of Waste Disposal Sites in the Philippines’, Sci.Int.(Lahore), 29(2), pp. 379–385.
Sandhu, K., Burton, P. and Dedekorkut-Howes, A. (2017) ‘Between hype and veracity; privatization of municipal solid waste management and its impacts on the informal waste sector’, Waste Management, 59, pp. 545–556. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2016.10.012.
Sasaki, S. et al. (2014) ‘Household income, living and working conditions of dumpsite waste pickers in Bantar Gebang: Toward integrated waste management in Indonesia’, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 89, pp. 11–21. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2014.05.006.
Schindler, S., Demaria, F. and Pandit, S.B. (2019) ‘Delhi’ s Waste Conflict’, Economic & Political Weekly, 47(42), pp. 18–21.
Sicam, O.A.G. (2018) ‘The Spatial Expression of Informal Livelihoods: An Examination of Charcoal Production in Tondo, Manila and Resettlement’, Muhon, (8), pp. 40–50.
da Silva, C.L., Weins, N. and Potinkara, M. (2019) ‘Formalizing the informal? A perspective on informal waste management in the BRICS through the lens of institutional economics’, Waste Management, 99, pp. 79–89. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2019.08.023.
Tong, Y.D., Huynh, T.D.X. and Khong, T.D. (2021) ‘Understanding the role of informal sector for sustainable development of municipal solid waste management system: A case study in Vietnam’, Waste Management, 124, pp. 118–127. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2021.01.033.
Wong, A.M. (2022) ‘Valued waste/wasted value: Waste, value and the labour process in electronic waste recycling in Singapore and Malaysia’, Geography Compass, 16(4), pp. 1–11. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/gec3.12616.
Wu, K.-M. and Zhang, J. (2019) ‘Living with Waste’, Source: China Perspectives, (2), pp. 67–74. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/26663922.
Yang, H., Ma, M., Thompson, Julian R., et al. (2018) ‘Waste management, informal recycling, environmental pollution and public health’, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 72(3), pp. 237–243. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2016-208597.
Yang, H., Ma, M., Thompson, Julian R, et al. (2018) ‘Waste management, informal recycling, environmental pollution and public health’, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health (1979-), 72(3), pp. 237–243. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/26896168.
Zolnikov, T.R. et al. (2021a) ‘A systematic review on informal waste picking: Occupational hazards and health outcomes’, Waste Management, 126, pp. 291–308. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2021.03.006.
Zolnikov, T.R. et al. (2021b) ‘A systematic review on informal waste picking: Occupational hazards and health outcomes’, Waste Management. Elsevier Ltd, pp. 291–308. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2021.03.006.
Zortea, M. (2019) ‘Community-Based and Integrated Solid Waste Management: Experiences from Metro Manila’s Tondo District’, Open Access Journal of Waste Management & Xenobiotics, 2(1). Available at: https://doi.org/10.23880/oajwx-16000117.