ABSTRACT
This chapter is based on field research conducted in Bamako among waste pickers. It builds on anthropological knowledge gathered through utilizing a still photo camera and a dictaphone. This chapter explores the following questions: How do waste pickers and self-organized youth groups impact the city, its environment, and industry? How do waste pickers self-organize and how does this self-organization affect them? How could the status of waste pickers be improved and what would be the impact of their improved status on the city? The findings show that waste pickers are organized to escape marginalization and to survive. In so doing, they also reduce the waste problem in the city of Bamako. While waste pickers play a crucial role in the management of waste, they remain marginalized. Through self-organization, waste pickers have been able to improve their livelihoods.
