This document summarizes a study of waste pickers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It found that Dar es Salaam generates over 4,000 tonnes of waste daily, with only 30% collected through formal systems. The remaining 70% is disposed of informally. An estimated 1,237 waste pickers collect and sort recyclables, operating out of 15 informal transfer stations and the city dump. Through interviews, it was found that waste pickers can collect up to 20 kg per day and earn about $108 per month selling materials. However, they lack protective equipment and face health issues from their work.

1. Waste
Pickers
in
Dar
es
Salaam,
Tanzania
Palfreman,
Joshua
WASTEDAR,
P.O.
Box
80394,
Dar
es
Salaam,
Tanzania
Abstract
Situated
on
the
tropical
shores
of
East
Africa,
the
diverse
and
opportunity
rich
metropolis
of
Dar
es
Salaam,
Tanzania’s
largest
city
is
enjoying
rapid
economic
growth.
Dar
es
Salaam
is
now
the
world’s
eighth
fastest
growing
city
by
population,
and
Africa’s
third
fastest
developing
urban
area1.
This
rapid
growth,
however,
has
created
in
its
wake
a
serious
waste
management
challenge.
The
city
generates
some
4,260
tonnes
of
waste
daily,
of
which
only
30%
is
managed
and
dumped
legally
at
the
Pugu
Kinyamwezi
Dumpsite
found
in
the
outskirts
of
the
city.
The
remaining
70%
is
either
disposed
of
informally
or
illegally
(i.e.
open
burning,
dumping,
burying)
causing
a
variety
of
health,
economic
and
social
related
consequences2.
In
2010
and
2013,
Dar
es
Salaam
was
rated
the
eighth
and
twelfth
filthiest
city
in
the
world
by
NYC
Consulting
and
Forbes
respectively34.
The
United
Nations
rates
Dar
es
Salaam’s
waste
management
structure
as
‘well
below
average’
and
newspapers,
pop
artists
and
films
mock
the
city
for
its
unsightly
and
smelly
vistas56.
Despite
the
horrors
that
Dar
es
Salaam's
waste
management
situation
represents
there
is
strong
potential
for
recycling
based
solutions
to
Dar
es
Salaam’s
waste
challenges.
Waste
recycling
in
Dar
es
Salaam,
Tanzania
is
currently
not
spearheaded
by
any
government,
private
or
civil
society
initiative
but
rather
by
the
efforts
of
an
informal
army
of
self-­‐
employed,
micro-­‐entrepreneurial
waste
pickers.
Such
a
substantial
human
resource
can
play
an
instrumental
role
in
cleaning
up
Tanzania’s
capital
if
sufficiently
understood
and
mapped
out,
however
previous
scholarship
covering
this
invisible
sector
does
not
exist.
One
on
one
interviews
and
focus
group
discussions
are
conducted
with
fifty
waste
pickers
across
Dar
es
Salaam.
A
total
of
fifteen
informal
recycling
transfer
stations
and
one
official
government
managed
dumpsite
is
mapped
out
across
the
city
that
respectively
support
the
operations
of
approximately
1,237
waste
pickers.
Waste
pickers
were
found
to
have
a
collection
capacity
of
up
to
twenty
kilograms
per
day
and
an
income
potential
of
$108USD
per
month
based
on
identified
market
rates
for
the
most
commonly
traded
waste
materials.
1
City
Mayors
(2014)
World’s
fastest
growing
urban
areas.
[Online].
2
United
Republic
of
Tanzania:
The
Vice
President’s
Office.
(2011)
Dar
es
Salaam
City
Environment
Outlook.
[Print
Only].
3
Mwakyusa,
A.
(2010)
It’s
official:
Dar
amongst
world’s
filthiest
cities.
ThisDay.
[Online].
4
Luck,
T.
(2008)
In
Pictures:
The
World’s
25
Dirtiest
Cities.
Forbes.
[Online].
5
Siemens.
(2010)
African
Green
City
Index.
[Online].
6
IPP
Media.
(2013)
Filthy,
stinking
Dar
es
Salaam!
[Online].

2.
Methodology
The
study
used
an
eclectic
methodology—sourcing
a
mix
of
original
fieldwork
and
interviews
and
official
statistics
and
interviews
in
Dar
es
Salaam,
Tanzania
between
1st
and
29th
August
2013.
The
study
began
by
mapping
informal
recycling
transfer
stations
across
Dar
es
Salaam’s
three
districts:
Ilala,
Kinondoni
and
Temeke.
Informal
recycling
transfer
stations
were
identified
through
discussions
with
informally
and
formally
employed
professionals
in
the
waste
management
and
recycling
industry
in
Tanzania
including:
the
Dar
es
Salaam
City
Council.
Upon
identifying
a
new
recycling
transfer
station,
GPS
coordinates
were
recorded
for
the
site
and
uploaded
onto
a
custom
Google
map.
A
few
criteria
were
applied
when
deciding
whether
to
include
a
recycling
transfer
station
in
the
study,
including:
a) the
recycling
transfer
station
must
process
at
least
one
metric
tonne
of
recyclables
per
week
b) the
recycling
transfer
station
must
present
evidence
that
it
has
been
in
operation,
in
the
same
location,
for
at
least
three
consecutive
years
c) the
recycling
transfer
station
must
be
recognised
and
supported
by
local
business,
religious
and
locally
elected
government
leaders
One-­‐on-­‐one
interviews
were
held
with
three
waste
pickers
at
each
informal
recycling
transfer
station
and
eight
waste
pickers
at
the
city
dumpsite,
Pugu
Kinyamwezi
amounting
to
fifty
waste
pickers
interviewed
across
fourteen
different
informal
recycling
transfer
stations
and
one
city
dumpsite.
Waste
pickers
were
questioned
on
a
wide
range
of
topics
including:
health,
safety
and
use
of
personal
protective
equipment
during
work,
travel
patterns,
carrying
capacity
and
their
use
of
non-­‐motorised
or
motorised
transport
during
work,
market
trading
trends
in
relation
to
the
sale
of
collected
recyclables,
recyclable
materials
collected
and
traded
and
the
average
monthly
income
from
the
trade
of
recyclables.
Results
• Waste
pickers
rated
the
nature
of
their
work
poorly,
reporting
day-­‐to-­‐day
operations
as
‘exhausting’,
‘dangerous’
and
‘unhealthy’.
Of
fifty
waste
pickers
interviewed,
forty-­‐three
reported
that
they
had
been
‘injured
or
admitted
to
a
health
facility’
in
the
past
twelve
months
due
to
their
recycling
operations.
The
most
common
injuries
or
hospital
admissions
were
a
result
of
contracting:
airborne
illnesses,
cuts,
bruises
or
fungal
infections.
No
waste
pickers
were
found
to
be
using
personal
protective
equipment
(PPE),
(i.e.
gloves,
mask,
boots,
overalls)
and
none
had
medical
insurance.
• 100%
of
waste
pickers
interviewed
travelled
on
foot
only,
carrying
recyclables
in
a
long
plastic
bag
and
not
making
use
of
any
type
of
motorised
or
non-­‐motorised
mode
of
transport.
Waste
pickers
were
found
to
travel
an
average
of
ten
to
fifteen
kilometers,
over
eight
to
twelve
hours
a
day,
carrying
a
load
between
five
and
seven
kilograms
per
trip.
Waste
pickers
interviewed
by
the
study
reported
a
collection

3. capacity
of
approximately
twenty
kilograms
of
recyclable
material
per
day,
irrespective
of
varying
weights
among
different
waste
materials
being
recycled.
• 100%
of
waste
pickers
brought
their
materials
to
informal
recycling
transfer
stations.
Informal
recycling
transfer
stations
were
operated
by
‘middlemen’
who
had
acquired
a
plot
of
land
to
aggregate
recyclables.
These
‘middlemen’
then
sold
their
higher
volumes
of
waste
to
formal
domestic
recycling
markets
that
offered
higher
buying
rates
for
the
same
waste
materials.
Informal
recycling
transfer
stations
were
identified
and
visited
at:
Mikocheni
B,
Namanga,
General
Tyre,
Biafra,
Manyanya,
Magomeni
Morocco,
Jangwani,
Kaunda,
Kamata,
Ilala
Boma,
Gereji,
Pugu
Kinyamwezi,
Kivukoni
Fish
Market
and
Clock
Tower.
• The
most
commonly
collected
and
traded
waste
materials
were
hard
plastics
(i.e.
PET/HDPE),
white
paper,
cardboard,
metal,
bones
and
glass.
No
waste
pickers
or
informal
recycling
transfer
stations
were
found
collecting
or
trading
fibre
plastics
(i.e.
LDPE),
tyres,
textiles
or
tetrapak.
• An
average
of
sixty-­‐five
waste
pickers
entered
and
exited
identified
informal
recycling
transfer
stations
daily
to
trade
their
waste
materials
while
some
200-­‐300
waste
pickers
entered
and
exited
the
Pugu
Kinyamwezi
city
dumpsite
daily
to
collect
and
trade
waste
materials.
It
is
estimated
that
a
combined
total
of
1,237
waste
pickers
are
operational
at
both
the
fourteen
identified
informal
recycling
transfer
stations
and
the
one
city
dumpsite
at
Pugu
Kinyamwezi.
• Of
fifty
waste
pickers
interviewed
an
average
monthly
income
of
$108USD
was
reported,
an
earning
40%
higher
than
the
set
national
minimum
wage
in
Tanzania
for
formal
employment
before
tax.
Discussion
• Recycling
activities
by
waste
pickers
could
be
substantially
safer
through
the
use
of
PPE.
The
provision
of
PPE
could
potentially
result
in
lower
medical
costs/admissions
by
waste
pickers,
thus
maximising
working
time
and
profits
for
waste
pickers.
Waste
pickers
who
wore
masks
for
example
could
reduce
their
susceptibility
to
airborne
sicknesses,
while
the
use
of
boots,
glasses
and
gloves
could
potentially
reduce
the
occurrence
of
injury
to
waste
pickers.
The
Government
of
Tanzania
must
do
more
to
police
the
use
of
PPE
by
waste
pickers
as
stipulated
in
Section
38
of
the
Solid
Waste
Management
Regulations
(2009)
that
requires
waste
pickers
to
use
personal
protective
equipment
when
handling
waste.
As
waste
pickers
themselves
are
mobile
and
more
economically
vulnerable,
the
government
could
police
the
use
of
PPE
by
targeting
middlemen
who
are
based
full
time
at
informal
recycling
transfer
stations.
The
government
might
effectively
ban
or
fine
these
middlemen
if
they
agree
to
trade
with
waste
pickers
who
are
not
using
PPE.
• The
scale
as
well
as
the
collection
and
transport
capacity
of
waste
pickers
is
now
better
understood.
Some
1,267
waste
pickers,
each
able
to
collect,
move
and
trade
approximately
twenty
kilograms
of
recyclable
waste
per
day
are
estimated
to
exist
in
Dar
es
Salaam.
If
stakeholders
in
government,
civil
society
or
the
private
sector
can
learn
how
to
mobilise
and
manage
this
valuable
human
resource
some
25.34

4. metric
tonnes
of
waste
could
potentially
be
recycled
daily.
This
will
hence
be
an
outcome
that
would
represent
a
recycling
capacity
almost
six
times
higher
than
the
cities
total
daily
waste
production
of
4.26
metric
tonnes
daily.
Additionally,
if
stakeholders
can
learn
how
to
partner
with
the
informal
human
resource
that
waste
pickers
represent,
then
they
could
potentially
explore
ways
to
provide
other
modes
of
motorised
and
non-­‐motorised
transport
to
waste
pickers.
This
could
potentially
result
in
a
far
higher
collection
and
trading
capacity
per
waste
picker
and
a
less
exhausting
nature
of
work
too.
• Recycling
can
play
a
more
substantial
role
in
managing
Dar
es
Salaam’s
waste
problems
if
informal
recycling
transfer
stations
can
offer
more
comprehensive
market
solutions
for
a
wider
range
of
waste
materials.
This
study
identified
that
of
fourteen
informal
recycling
transfer
stations
in
Dar
es
Salaam,
none
purchased
fibre
plastics,
tyres,
textiles
or
tetrapak
waste
materials.
Now
that
the
trends,
trading
options
and
physical
locations
of
informal
recycling
transfer
stations
are
known,
multiple
stakeholders,
including
those
in
government,
civil
society
and
the
private
sector
can
seize
the
opportunity
to
form
partnerships
with
the
informal
waste
picking
market
in
efforts
to
apply
monetary
value
to
items
that
are
not
currently
being
traded.
• Waste
pickers
were
found
to
have
a
monthly
income
substantially
higher
than
the
national
minimum
wage.
If
formalised,
the
vibrant
informal
sector
of
waste
picking
could
thus
make
tax
contributions
and
reap
governmental
benefits
and
also
join
worker
co-­‐operatives
for
improved
representation
within
formal
sectors
in
government,
civil
society
and
the
private
sector.
Such
an
initiative,
the
Alliance
of
Waste
Pickers
(Tanzania)
was
launched
in
2014.
The
initiative
offers
identification,
legal
representation,
PPE
and
additional
services
to
waste
pickers
who
register
and
pay
an
annual
subscription
to
the
alliance.
Conclusion
The
informal
network
of
waste
pickers
and
informal
recycling
transfer
stations
in
Dar
es
Salaam
is
providing
a
commendable
environmental
and
waste
management
service
to
the
city.
This
study
finds
however
that
there
is
great
potential
for
the
development
and
mobilisation
of
this
informal
human
resource.
From
training
opportunities
and
basic
forms
of
personal
protective
equipment
to
coordination
through
waste
picker
alliances
and
cooperatives
there
are
a
variety
of
methods
that
waste
pickers
could
employ
to
improve
their
working
conditions
and
maximise
their
profits.
Additionally,
there
are
obvious
opportunities
for
actors
in
the
formal
sector,
such
as
stakeholders
in
government,
the
private
sector
or
civil
society
who
could
benefit
from
the
services
of
waste
pickers
through
mobilising
this
human
force
for
common
goals.
Through
multi-­‐stakeholder
participation
and
the
establishment
of
a
bridge
between
the
informal
and
formal,
waste
pickers
and
leaders,
entrepreneurs
and
visionaries
of
Dar
es
Salaam
can
realise
a
cleaner
metropolis
for
all.