180
R. S. Sannabhadti
entrepreneurs operate or stay are not clear. In our studies, we have found that this
seems to have happened with most households at least once, if not multiple times in
their lives.
4.2.3 Third factor that makes the scrap pickers shift from their locations is the
changing operational conditions in a given area on account of change in gatekeepers
of these spaces. Being an informal activity, ‘the effectiveness of waste picking’
is dependent on the ability of waste picking households to establish and maintain
relationships with key gatekeepers who control the use of that space. A change in
gatekeepers or the relationship with these gatekeepers results in the waste picker
becoming in-efficient in his practice of scrap collection.
This lack of stability at a given location leads to the formation of amorphous
groups that do not have time to develop the necessary core values of trust and cooperation to come together as a community. Thus, it is difficult to undertake community
organisation activities in such community settings where households or enterprises
keep shifting their location or operational domains. In the absence of a pan-city
mechanism or a network of cooperatives/NGOs/CBOs working together this issue
remains a challenge.
4.3 Dispersed Operational Areas
The operational areas of both ‘street-side waste pickers’ and the ‘itinerant scrap
buyers’ are widely dispersed, even though they may be staying in close proximity
or having shops near to each other. In most other economic activities, there are
certain benefits to clustering which results in creation of synergies, as long as the
individual economic enterprises reduce competition by creating niche domains of
operations and specialise in a particular aspect/product. However, in scrap picking the
scope to ‘specialise by creation of niche domains’ is limited. Specialising in dealing
with specific niche varieties of waste is dependent on the availability of particular
scrap varieties in adequate quantities. There are only 4–5 varieties of waste namely
paper, three types of plastic and metals which seem to be available from residential
locations in adequate quantities allowing limited scope to specialise and create niche
domains. More than 70% of the city area consists of residential and mixed land uses,
where the available scrap varieties remain more or less similar. Thus, clustering is
scrap picking enterprises is seen among itinerant scrap buyers in just two or three
locations (Sarkhej, Ramapir no Tekro and Memnagar) in Ahmedabad—which have
built an established client and supplier base. The scrap picking activity demands
a higher need for storage space as compared to most other economic activities.
Also, the affordability threshold of this economic activity is quite low. Thus, the
most of the clusters when they developed seemed to have come upon urban land
having low rental values such as informal settlements, gamtals (urban villages also
known as gaonthans or lal dora areas) and peri-urban open plots. The clustering
benefit does not seem to offer much benefit, as compared to the benefits offered by
operating in dispersed locations, thereby avoiding competition. Moreover, the need
R. S. Sannabhadti
entrepreneurs operate or stay are not clear. In our studies, we have found that this
seems to have happened with most households at least once, if not multiple times in
their lives.
4.2.3 Third factor that makes the scrap pickers shift from their locations is the
changing operational conditions in a given area on account of change in gatekeepers
of these spaces. Being an informal activity, ‘the effectiveness of waste picking’
is dependent on the ability of waste picking households to establish and maintain
relationships with key gatekeepers who control the use of that space. A change in
gatekeepers or the relationship with these gatekeepers results in the waste picker
becoming in-efficient in his practice of scrap collection.
This lack of stability at a given location leads to the formation of amorphous
groups that do not have time to develop the necessary core values of trust and cooperation to come together as a community. Thus, it is difficult to undertake community
organisation activities in such community settings where households or enterprises
keep shifting their location or operational domains. In the absence of a pan-city
mechanism or a network of cooperatives/NGOs/CBOs working together this issue
remains a challenge.
4.3 Dispersed Operational Areas
The operational areas of both ‘street-side waste pickers’ and the ‘itinerant scrap
buyers’ are widely dispersed, even though they may be staying in close proximity
or having shops near to each other. In most other economic activities, there are
certain benefits to clustering which results in creation of synergies, as long as the
individual economic enterprises reduce competition by creating niche domains of
operations and specialise in a particular aspect/product. However, in scrap picking the
scope to ‘specialise by creation of niche domains’ is limited. Specialising in dealing
with specific niche varieties of waste is dependent on the availability of particular
scrap varieties in adequate quantities. There are only 4–5 varieties of waste namely
paper, three types of plastic and metals which seem to be available from residential
locations in adequate quantities allowing limited scope to specialise and create niche
domains. More than 70% of the city area consists of residential and mixed land uses,
where the available scrap varieties remain more or less similar. Thus, clustering is
scrap picking enterprises is seen among itinerant scrap buyers in just two or three
locations (Sarkhej, Ramapir no Tekro and Memnagar) in Ahmedabad—which have
built an established client and supplier base. The scrap picking activity demands
a higher need for storage space as compared to most other economic activities.
Also, the affordability threshold of this economic activity is quite low. Thus, the
most of the clusters when they developed seemed to have come upon urban land
having low rental values such as informal settlements, gamtals (urban villages also
known as gaonthans or lal dora areas) and peri-urban open plots. The clustering
benefit does not seem to offer much benefit, as compared to the benefits offered by
operating in dispersed locations, thereby avoiding competition. Moreover, the need