Exploring Eco-Industrial Development in the Global South: Recognizing informal waste-picking as urban-industrial symbiosis?

DANNY TROGER; ABRAHAM ALEXIS BECERRA ARANEDA; ROBERTO BUSNELLI; MARTA YAJNES; FERNANDO WILLIAMS; ANDREAS CHRISTIAN BRAUN

Cleaner Waste Systems

Elsevier

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2023 vol. 5 p. 1 - 14

2772-9125

Industrial ecology (IE) was discussed as a suitable approach to resolve three widespread socio-ecological issues in the global south: waste accumulation, unemployment, and lack of adequate housing. As the IE framework was developed mainly in the global north, its applicability in the global south is uncertain. The use of solid residues as building products was explored to address the socio-ecological issues addressed. The study focuses on San Martin, a district in the Buenos Aires metropolitan region. A SWOT analysis that includes PESTLE dimensions was applied to the main actors of San Martin´s waste management, to identify risks of the success of an IE-based strategy. Key issues include the informality and low agency of non-profit organizations, fluctuations in the national economy, inefficiencies in waste collection and recovery, and a lack of awareness and policies on waste separation. One major challenge is the undervaluation of expertise and efficiency in of waste sorting and processing by informal waste pickers and non-profit organizations. If these activities are recognized as a symbiosis of the current urban and industrial metabolism, the IE framework couldcan empower informal waste pickers, instead of displacing them. Thus, urban eco-industrial development becomes a powerful strategy for sustainable development in the global south by bringing together different disciplines and stakeholders under a common vision.