The work of waste: inside India's infra-economy

• Published in: Transactions - Institute of British Geographers (1965) Vol. 40; no. 4; pp. 575 - 595
• Main Author: Gidwani, Vinay
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.10.2015; John Wiley & Sons Ltd; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Detritus; Economics; Geography; India; Inequality; Informal economy; infra-economy; labour; Labour force; livelihoods; Marginalized people; Municipal solid waste; Opacity; Plenary Lecture; Quality of life; Social security; Waste; Waste recycling

My essay1 focuses on the marginalised people whose livelihoods depend on gathering, sorting, transporting and selling garbage in India's huge informal economy, livelihoods now challenged as municipal governments contract the recycling of waste to corporations. The evolving, bumpy geography of t...