ABSTRACT
The world is being rapidly depleted of its natural resources, which can be attributed to our current linear economic model. In order for developing countries to achieve equitable growth, there is a need to transition to a circular economy. Fast growing mega cities in the Global South, such as Delhi in India and São Paulo Municipal Area in Brazil, have large groups of informal waste pickers that perform recycling activities contributing to closing the waste management cycle. This chapter highlights the contributions of informal waste pickers to closing the waste management cycle and identifies the conditions in both cases that enable informal waste pickers to organise in cooperatives. This information is further analysed and presented through a Green Transformation lens. Both case studies show that the informal sector is more effective than the formal sector in closing waste management cycles in cities. A better understanding of the conditions, needs and potentials of informal waste pickers will be fundamental to tackling the increasing waste generation in cities and for the transformation to a circular economy.
