Estimating the possible range of recycling rates achieved by dump waste pickers: The case of Bantar Gebang in Indonesia

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Abstract
This article presents informal recycling contributions made by scavengers in the surrounding area of Bantar Gebang final disposal site for municipal solid waste generated in Jakarta. Preliminary fieldwork was conducted through daily conversations with scavengers to identify recycling actors at the site, and then quantitative field surveys were conducted twice. The first survey ( n = 504 households) covered 33% of all households in the area, and the second survey ( n = 69 households) was conducted to quantify transactions of recyclables among scavengers. Mathematical equations were formulated with assumptions made to estimate the possible range of recycling rates achieved by dump waste pickers. Slightly over 60% of all respondents were involved in informal recycling and over 80% of heads of households were waste pickers, normally referred to as live-in waste pickers and live-out waste pickers at the site. The largest percentage of their spouses were family workers, followed by waste pickers and housewives. Over 95% of all households of respondents had at least one waste picker or one small boss who has a coequal status of a waste picker. Average weight of recyclables collected by waste pickers at the site was estimated to be approximately 100 kg day-1 per household on the net weight basis. The recycling rate of solid wastes collected by all scavengers at the site was estimated to be in the range of 2.8–7.5% of all solid wastes transported to the site.

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