Resources and Environment 2015, 5(1): 9-14

DOI: 10.5923/j.re.20150501.02

The Role of Informal Sector in Waste Management, A

Case Study; Tafila-Jordan
Mohammad Aljaradin1,*, Kenneth M. Persson2, Emad Sood3
1

Tafila Technical University, Natural Resources Department, Engineering Faculty, Tafila, Jordan
2
Lund University, Department of Water Resources Engineering, Lund, Sweden
3
Tafila Technical University, Civil Engineering Department, Engineering Faculty, Tafila, Jordan

Abstract Scavengers play a major role in the waste management process in developing countries. This study analyzed the

informal recycling activities carried out by scavenger in the Tafila region of Jordan. The results show that scavengers have an
important role in the informal solid waste management (SWM) especially in term of waste reduction, minimization and
material recovery. Significant values from the scavenged material make the scavenging somewhat a profitable business for
poor people and could track more in the future. Socially scavenging tends to be acceptable in the community, especially with
the increasing of the poverty and employments rates and became more acceptable in rural areas as it is already in urban areas.
Despite the low level of education, the awareness for the negative health effect from working with waste was very high. The
organizing of the scavenger work is suggested, since it would improve their working environment, income and living
conditions. Therefore it should increase their contribution significantly to resource recovery.

Keywords Scavengers, Material recovery, Tafila, Jordan

1. Introduction
In Jordan resource recovery and recycling is very limited
and undertaken by formal level through none governmental
organization (NGOs) and informal sector mainly by poor
individuals who make a living on the recovery of recyclable
waste materials [1]. These are typically identified as
scavengers. Some of their activities are carried out before the
solid waste reaches the final disposal sites for the separation
of recyclable materials. However much is done at the
disposal sites. The scavengers recover material to sell for
reuse or recycling, also they collect different items for their
own consumption. They usually perform their work in a very
primitive way without any protective measures for their
health and safety. They are exposed to hazards and unhealthy
work place environment which they are not fully aware of.
This could lead to high risk of infection and disease
transmission. Nevertheless, scavengers have an important
role in the informal solid waste management especially in
term of waste reduction, minimization and material recovery.
A significant value of the scavenged material in combination
with waste minimization makes the scavenging not only an
income opportunity for poor people, but also serves the
protection of natural resources and the environment. Poverty,
high unemployment and demand for recyclables are there
* Corresponding author:
mohammad.aljaradin@ttu.edu.jo (Mohammad Aljaradin)
Published online at http://journal.sapub.org/re
Copyright 2015 Scientific & Academic Publishing. All Rights Reserved

drivers. As these still appear in the foreseeable future,

scavenging is likely to continue to exist [2]. Efforts to
eliminate scavenging and to encourage scavengers to engage
in other occupations usually fail [3]. Supporting scavenging
can result in grassroots development, poverty alleviation and
environmental protection. Studies have found that when
scavenging is supported, scavengers can earn higher incomes
than unskilled workers [4]. Besides, the scavenging process
will lead to less money and time spent on collection and
transportation [3].
Scavenging has been recognized recently in Jordan as an
effective way for managing waste whereas it reduce the cost
of formal waste management systems as it reduce the
quantity of waste for collection [5-7]. But on the other hand,
many objections for the involvement of children (Child labor)
and the elderly in this sector are risen, as it expose them to
significant health risk due to their daily contact with garbage
[8], and it often hinders children from having any chance of a
formal education. There is no legislation in the country
forbidden scavenger from practicing their work but the
Ministry of Social Development always tracks these children
and turns them into specialized centers for rehabilitation.
Child labor is a growing problem in Jordan see (figure 1).
Officially 32000 children are engaged in child labor in
sectors, but other unofficial statistics says that more than
53000 children are actually working [10]. Child labor has
always been of Governmental concern, especially children
engaged in hazardous situations or conditions, such as
scavengers, but much have so far been done to reduce it. The
authorities in Jordan consider scavenging as uncivilized

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Mohammad Aljaradin et al.:

The Role of Informal Sector in Waste Management, A Case Study; Tafila-Jordan

practice and present a bad image for the country. They are
often ignored or seen as burdens to efficient waste
management processes. Yet economy can change that
concept. In a country where 14.7% of the population lives
below the poverty datum line and unemployment officially
stands at 12.7%, scavenging becomes gradually more
socially acceptable. Scavenging has become a way of life for
many and turning into profitable business. Scavenging is
sometimes claimed to improve efficiency in a societys use
of natural resources [11]. Scavenging cannot be wished away,
however, nor can it be ignored. In any case a solution must
be found to recognize the scavenger presence and maximize
their role [12]. The informal recycling in Jordan was
estimated to be around 10% from the total municipal solid
waste (MSW) generated which represent around 196428 ton
in 2009 (figure 2).

Figure 2. The Methods of disposal in Jordan (Source: SWEEP 2010)

The role of scavengers in waste management is currently

increasing in Jordan but without the proper and sustainable
organization [13, 14]. The solid waste streams and the
scavengers many roles in the waste management are
presented in (Figure 3).
The materials most often collected are aluminum, plastic,
paper, cardboard, glass, copper, and iron. Organics waste are
the major fraction, as expected, since Jordan is a developing
country, and food is the major component of the solid waste
stream generated in developing countries [15], and the reset
are decomposable and recyclable. The physical composition
and typical percentage distribution of MSW in Jordan
presented (Figure 4).

Figure 1. Child labor in Jordan 2007-2008 (source: [9])

Figure 3. Flow chart for Solid waste streams and scavengers role in Jordan

Figure 4. The Physical Composition of MSW in Jordan (Source: [14])

Resources and Environment 2015, 5(1): 9-14

It is little acknowledged or even known that scavengers

often contribute significantly to resource recovery and
recycling of waste materials and can thus have a very
positive impact on waste management systems [16, 17]. In
Jordan a comparison of costs and benefits of scavenging is
rarely conducted. This paper analysis the informal recycling
activities carried out by scavenger in Jordan. Field visits and
interviews among scavengers were conducted. The
organizing of scavenger work under the umbrella of
municipalities or private companies is discussed since it can
increase their contribution significantly to resource recovery
and recycling of waste materials, where it was very
successful in many parts of the world [4, 18]. Furthermore, in
the paper, the improvement of their working environment,
income and living conditions is discussed.

2. Method and Material

2.1. Area Description
Tafila is a rural center in the south of Jordan, with a
municipal population of 80,000 people, Tafila governate
consists of four municipalities (Figure 5). The solid waste
generation in Tafila city which is the main municipality with
a population of 49,000 people is around 40-45 tons/day or
0.9 kg/capita/day.

11

550000 m2, situated 35 km south-east from the center of

Tafila (see Figure 5). The dump site receives 120 tons/day
from the four municipalities of the governate. The area of the
dump site is mostly rocky, which makes it difficult to dig
trenches for the daily cover. Trenches are opened through the
rocky ground and the waste is dumped without compaction
and without lining. The waste surface is covered daily with a
thin layer of soil. However, before the covering process is
initiated, some scavenging is done inside the dump site by
the employees working there. In the past, the municipality
used to rent the dump site to private contractors. The
contactors dug up the waste and collect the recyclables to be
solid to interested companies.
2.2. Investigation Scheme
This work is based on data collected via personal
interviews among scavengers. 100 scavengers were
interviewed during 10 days in Tafila region. The interviews
were conducted during October 2010. The data collections
targeted scavengers at work and at home. Therefore, the
interviews were conducted on the streets and scavengers
home. It was designed to answer these questions; the social
demographic characteristics of the scavenger; age, sex, level
of education, marital status and then the source, amount, type
and place of the waste collected, purpose and benefits from
the collected waste, the negative effect of working with
waste on their health and finally the society acceptance of
their work.

3. Result and Discussion

The social, economic and demographic characteristics of
the scavengers are presented in Table 1.
Table 1. The demographic composition of the questionnaires
Sex

N (Number)
Male
Female

99
1

4-16 Years
16- 25 Years
Above 25 Years

38
42
20

Age
Figure 5. Map of the study area, Tafila region (source: [19])

The responsibility for MSW collection and transportation

to the final destination sites lies with the Greater Tafila
municipality, while the operation and management of the
final disposal sites is the responsibility of the Common
Service Council (CSCs) in the governate. The solid waste is
collected by compacter vehicles; these vehicles are owned
and operated by Tafila Municipality. Each compacter has its
crew which is usually two employees and a driver. Each
round of service for each compacter takes around 5 hours;
they start to collect waste from the containers which are
distributed all over the entire city early morning about 5 am,
but another round usually for markets, shops and poultry
industry in the evening. After finishing each round the
compactors directly bring their load to the disposal site.
Tafila waste disposal site (Jurf aldarweesh) is an area of

Marital status
Single
Married

42
58

Education
In school
Level 1-7
Level 7- high school
No education

79
61
39
21

(Source: field work 2/10/2010).

The interviewed were mainly male, 62% aged between 16

and 50 years with an average of 31 years where they are
mostly married. 38% of them were children of less than 16
years. The majority of the respondents are below high school

Mohammad Aljaradin et al.:

12

The Role of Informal Sector in Waste Management, A Case Study; Tafila-Jordan

level of education were 61% from the only have chance to go

to school 79%. The portion with no education at all was 21%.
Table 2. The Economic situation for the scavengers in the survey
Monthly Income

N (Number)

Below 250

22

More 250

78

housing
Own my house

69

Rented

31

Own Car

33

No

67

Car

Daily working Hours

2-5 Hours

5-8 Hours

52

48

(Source: field work 2/10/2010).

Concerning the economic situation (Table 2), it is found

that approximately 78% of the people earn more than 250
per month, the minimum level of salary in the public sector
in the country, this concur with a recent study conducted by
Amman municipality, where was found that the average
monthly income for scavenger ranged from 300 to 900 [20].
More than 50% of the interviewed are married, where, 69%
live in their own houses, whereas the remaining represents
those renting from a landlord. 48% of the scavengers work
for 4-8 hours daily which implies that scavenging is the only
income as supporting their family members. Instead, 52%
work for 2-5 as it is considered as a supplementary income to
the family and sometimes just for the scavenger himself.
33% own a car, this advantage mange them to collect more
and go further distance, and it is usual in family which have
more than one person contributing to scavenging.
From (figure 6), 98% of the scavenger works said they had
worked for more than two years in scavenging; this could be
because scavenging tends to be a profitable business or
because scavengers do not have another opportunity to get a
job due to the low education levels.

Figure 7. Average Quantities collected by 100 scavenger during a

working day (source: field work 2/10/2010)

Many scavengers specialize in collecting aluminum cans

(soft drinks), and work individually in the city streets. This
work is done usually by teenagers. They work for 2-5 hours
every day before and after schools, beginning at 6-7 in the
morning and from 2-5 in the afternoon. They walk long
distance every day. The fact that they did not have a boss in
the work gave them flexibility in working hours. The
quantity of material collected every day ranges from 2 to 5
kg of aluminum cans, depending on the scavenger efforts.
Other specializes in collecting waste directly from rubbish
bins and containers located in front of restaurants, cafes and
public markets and sometimes between houses in the
neighborhoods. They collect almost everything except the
food waste. This work is usually done by the children of
lower ages. By the end of the day the collected material is
then sold to trash dealers (agents) whom usually preform
more sorting and cleaning before selling the material further
to specialized industries at market prices. However, if the
scavenger owns his car, he can store and transport scavenged
material for latter cleaning and sorting, and thus gets a higher
value for the collected material when selling it. The prices of
the sorted materials depend on the international prices for the
used materials as shown in table 3.
Table 3. The prices of some sorted materials
Price (JD /Ton)

Recycle materials

300

plastic

200

Colored fabrics

350

A white cloths

250

Iron

110

Aluminum

65

Cardboard

(Source: international prices 2009)

Figure 6. The working experience in scavenging (Source: Field Work

2/10/2010)

The most common collected type during a working day

form all the scavengers is soft drink cans with around 150 Kg
and scrap metals around 90 Kg as show in (figure 7).

Despite the low level of education for many of the

scavengers, the awareness between interviewed was high as
81% on the negative health effect from working with waste,
see (figure 8). However, usually as they work in a very
primitive way without any protective measures for health
and safety they could be exposed to hazards which they are
not aware of.

Resources and Environment 2015, 5(1): 9-14

13

Organizing of scavenger work under the umbrella of

municipalities or private companies can increase their
contribution significantly to resource recovery, recycling of
waste materials and increase their profits by excluding the
agents role form the process.

4. Conclusions
Figure 8. The awareness about negative effect on their health (Source:
Field Work 2/10/2010)

The scavenging tends to be socially acceptable in the

community, especially with the increase of the poverty rates
and employments. Before it was acceptable in urban areas,
but nowadays it is acceptable even in rural areas. 68%
answered Yes it was acceptable on this question.
Sometimes they got encouragement from relatives and
neighbors to work as scavengers, see (figure 9). On the other
hand, some of scavenger had been forbidden by some
families to enter their neighborhoods because of the bad
behaviors of the other scavengers whom left the garbage
scattered in a mess behind them instead of leaving the
garbage like it was.

Figure 9. The society acceptance of scavenger work (Source: Field Work

2/10/2010)

Working with scavengers and integrating them within the

SWM system has been identified as a requisite to ensure the
success of recycling projects [14]. Most of the scavenger
agrees to work under bigger umbrella even if it owned by
private sector. However they prefer public sector more. 68%
agree to work under municipality umbrella see (figure 10).

Figure 10. Working under municipality umbrella (Source: Field Work

2/10/2010)

The results show that scavengers in Jordan have an

important role in the informal solid waste management
especially in term of waste reduction, minimization and
material recovery.
Significant values from the scavenged material make the
scavenging a profitable business for poor people and could
track more in the future. Authority does not realize fully the
social, economic and environmental benefits of waste
recovery process. Instead, they often ignore scavenger
opinions in the strategic planning for MSW. Nowadays,
there are no official records for the scavengers number and
the quantity of the recovered material in the country.
Scavengers usually have no concept of the essential role
their work plays in this process. As a result, their social status
is very low. Despite the low level of education for many of
the scavengers, the awareness for the negative health effect
from working with waste was very high in the cohort.
However, usually as they work in a very primitive way
without any protective measures for health and safety they
could be exposed to hazards which they are not aware of. The
scavenging tends to be socially acceptable in the community,
especially with the increasing of the poverty rates and
employments.
The result also relived that scavenger would consider to
involve municipalities, private companies and NGOs to
work under their umbrellas, as they think it may increase
their contribution significantly to resource recovery and
increase their profits by excluding the agents role form the
process. This involving definitely will help to organize
integration of scavengers in SWM in a positive way and it
will enhance recycling and recovery process. Moreover, to
enhance recovering efforts, should decrease the required
work for collecting, transportation and final treatment of
waste for municipalities. In addition, Industries that accept
recyclable materials will encourage and support any
organizing efforts in order to assure an adequate volume and
quality of the materials. On the other hand, any organization
program should consider the social, economic and health of
scavengers in a way to help to improve and integrate this
sector to enhance recovery process without forgetting that at
developing landfills (upgrading to sanitary landfills)
scavenging will most probably be prohibited to enter and
work at disposal site. Also starting sorting at sources will ban
them from streets. As sorting at source of generation is not
possible at this time due to socio-economic situation [1],
scavenger will continue to be present in Jordan. Programs for
teaching them how to perform their work in a health and
safety environment should be considered in the organizing

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Mohammad Aljaradin et al.:

The Role of Informal Sector in Waste Management, A Case Study; Tafila-Jordan

and integration process to avoid the high risk of infection and

disease transmission which they are not aware of.

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Algad Amman, Jordan.
[11] Medina, M., The world's scavengers: salvaging for
sustainable consumption and production. 2007, Lanham:
AltaMira Press.

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