The Political Ecology of Informal Waste Recyclers in India

Federico Demaria has given us a gem of a book... it is the kind of book to which the reader tends to return to because yet another element suddenly is in play. It is partly the complexity of the conditions he has engaged and the vastness of the elements in play. It is the type of book that helps us learn something we had not considered or thought about. His analysis covers a large variety of elements, from environmental conflicts to giving voice and presence to the poor and forgotten. It is a must-read. * Saskia Sassen, Columbia University, New York, and author of Expulsions *
Our planet is not only a tap of resources, it is also the sink of our wastes. Their disposal - technocratised and invisibilised - is key to planetary survival. In this book, rich in ideas and evidence drawn from waste ships, consumption waste and socially marginalised recyclers of waste, Federico Demaria remedies this dangerous neglect to reveal the political-ecological conflicts at play in India's far-from-circular economy and to theorise accumulation by cost-shifting and contamination. An innovative, essential and authoritative source for all researchers, activists, policy-makers and enforcers concerned about unsustainable development. * Barbara Harriss-White, Professor of Development Studies, University of Oxford; an author of "India working: Essays on society and economy" *
This book delves deeply into unseen aspects of poverty in India, discusses the environmentalism of the poor, and clarifies the debates on the so-called circular economy. We know that the industrial economy is entropic. This book is a major contribution to research on the economy of the Entropocene. * Joan Martinez Alier, Autonomous University of Barcelona, and author of Environmentalism of the Poor *
Demaria makes a timely and important contribution to political ecology, demonstrating that neither the political economy nor materiality can be considered as "context" since they are always already co-constituted. The book's rich analysis exposes how the politics around social metabolism is intrinsically linked to the struggle against exploitation, dispossession, and contamination * Maria Kaika, University of Amsterdam, author of City of flows: Modernity, nature, and the city and co-editor of Turning up the Heat: Urban Political Ecology for a Climate Emergency, with Keil, Mandler and Tzaninis *
Based on more than ten years of field experience and two case studies in India, Federico Demaria provides a perceptive and compelling exploration of the power relations at the heart of recycling in the global South. His detailed discussion of the conflicts that exist in the recycling sector, both locally and globally, not only highlights social, political, and institutional dynamics but sensitively tells the story of informal recyclers, or waste pickers, whom he identifies as important environmental workers. Ultimately, Demaria makes an impassioned plea for a fair and just evaluation of the contribution made by waste pickers who stand at the front line of climate change resilience. * Libby McDonald, Lecturer and Inclusive Economies Lead; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, D-Lab *
Drawing from many cases but particularly from the Delhi waste conflict around privatization of waste and introduction of incineration, the book traces back the struggles of workers and allies and makes a powerful call for the recognition of the crucial role informal waste workers make to the environment and the economy. The book makes a critical contribution to the growing knowledge of waste pickers by studying not only through a poignant narrative of conflicts and struggles but also by introducing key concepts for understanding the threats and the struggles for resistance. * Sonia Dias, Women in Informal Employment Globalizing and Organizing *