The economics of waste recycling: The role of formal and informal sectors in the municipal solid waste management system of the developing countries the case study of Lagos Stat

Municipalities in metropolitan cities of developing countries often find it difficult to cope with the onerous task of providing municipal waste services to their citizens due to financial constraints and poor infrastructure. hi most of these cities, waste collection services are grossly inadequate as less than the population is serviced with regular and efficient waste services. However, the shortcomings of the formal waste management system are compensated by the activities of the informal sector activities that make significant contributions to the municipal waste management system (MWMS) through material recovery and waste recycling.;In view of this, the study focuses on the roles of the formal and informal sector in waste management with regards to their impacts on the recycling rate of Lagos State. In this respect, the study measured and compared the recycling rates between the formal and informal sector to determine their impacts on the recycling rates of the municipality. This was intended to identify the contributions of the informal sector to the productivity of the Lagos State MWMS as a critical component of the waste management structure that functions alongside the private sector.;The study makes use of primary data comprising of field survey, questionnaires instruments, interviews, observations and site visits backed by secondary data sources to investigate the range of informal sector activities in comparison to the formal sector. This would determine if any, how much of an impact each of the two sub-sector of the MWMS in developing countries contribute to the recycling rate of Municipalities; using Lagos State as a case study. The findings indicate that, while both sub-sectors play significant roles in the MWMS, the informal recycling activities contribute more to the recycling rate of the municipal waste management than the formal sector. It also shows that informal sector recycling activities reduced the total waste volume by limiting the use of landfill and more importantly, it shows that the informal waste management sector provides avenues of income for the vulnerable urban poor in Lagos State.;In addition, the study also corroborates previous studies regarding the non-recognition and poor perception of the informal sector as a group of social-misfits who contribute to illegal waste dumping and causes environmental blight. In this regards, the study found that the informal sector is sporadic and unorganized, comprising of low skilled workers with no access to credit facility and operate outside of the formal waste management structure. On the whole, the study proposed a conceptual framework of an inclusive waste management model similar to those practiced in India, Brazil and Thailand which operate successful waste management systems that incorporate the informal sector.