Micro to Macro: How Rag-Picking Improves India’s Economy

In India, a lack of waste management infrastructure, inadequate disposal and collection systems and poor education around waste management issues means that littered roads are a common sight. Littering that occurs at the micro level, has negative impacts for society as a whole at the macro level, which is a classic case of Tragedy of the Commons (click here for a further explanation). 2,500 tonnes of solid waste is generated per day in Ahmedabad¹. Since November 2014, Rag-pickers through PM have collected over 1 million kilograms of recyclable waste from the roadside. Women who rag-pick collect around 20kg of recyclable waste, 6 days a week, 52 weeks per year. They segregate the waste into different materials, then sell it on to a middleman to eventually be recycled. The women’s reason for rag-picking is to earn an income so they can provide for their family. 

But imagine if Ahmedabad’s 30,000 Rag-pickers² weren’t doing this nearly every day of the year. The result is that waste would be piling up on the streets, in fields and rivers, contaminating the environment. The residents of Ahmedabad would rather have clean streets over littered ones. They would rather not have to endure the smell or look at the eyesore of waste on the roads. 

More significantly though, the adverse health effects of unclean waste-ridden streets can lead to all the residents of Ahmedabad having a poorer quality of life. If people have poorer health, adults may not be able to work and children may miss days of school. At the minimum, people will be less productive. Consequently, this would harm Ahmedabad’s economy in the short and long term. Lower productivity and missed days at work results in lower output and hampered concentration and absence from school mean children today will be less skilled for the future.  

The underappreciated work that the Rag-pickers do is massively important for the positive wellbeing of the residents of Ahmedabad. Rag-picking is a nationwide occupation, so the impact that an informal job like rag-picking has for India’s economy must be vast. At the micro level, uneducated women earn a living through rag-picking. At the macro level, the service that these Rag-pickers provide by cleaning India’s streets has a huge multiplier effect for India’s economy.  

References:

1.       http://cpcb.nic.in/trend-of-solid-waste-generation-in-46-cities/

2.       PM serve around 50 women at one centre. There are 20 centres in one slum alone, catering to nearly 1,200 Rag-pickers. PM estimate there are around 600 centres across Ahmedabad, therefore around 30,000 Rag-pickers serve Ahmedabad alone.