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HAYAMI, Yujiro. DIKSHIT, A.K. MISHRA, S.N. Waste pickers and collectors in Delhi : Poverty and environment in an urban informal sector in Journal of Development Studies, vol. 42, issue 1, 2006, p.41-69     Waste pickers and collectors constitute the bottom layer of waste recycling in the metropolis of Delhi. Pickers collect waste just by picking them up from public places such as garbage dumps and streets, whereas collectors purchase waste from waste producers such as households and shops for sale to higher-level waste traders. Most pickers have incomes below the poverty line set by the Planning Commission of India, whereas the majority of collectors earn marginally higher than the poverty-line income. The poverty of pickers is not transitory, but chronic as they have no connection to enter the community of collectors and higher-level waste traders within which the community mechanism works effectively to reduce risk and transaction costs. Despite their low economic and social status, pickers and collectors are making important contributions to society.   Read the article 