Waste Pickers in Pune, India

Recent statistics show the majority of workers in developing countries earn their livelihoods in the informal sector. For this paper, a sample of 150 was randomly drawn from the membership database of Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat (KKPKP) in Pune. The study finds that waste picking in Pune remains confined to the Scheduled Castes and has disproportionately large numbers of women. The population is characterized by high levels of illiteracy – only 1 per cent of adults in the households having completed secondary school – and a larger household size than in the general population. The informal waste sector offers employment opportunities to illiterate, socially excluded jobless workers.