Contested Waste’ examines socio-environmental conflicts involving waste pickers in the Global South, uncovering the systemic injustices that underpin contemporary waste policies. Driven by the privatisation of waste management, these conflicts expose the “recycling paradox”: while waste pickers make critical, uncompensated contributions to sustainability, they are further excluded. This book analyses how modern waste policies marginalise waste pickers, triggering conflicts in cities across Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Drawing on over 70 conflicts documented in the Global Environmental Justice Atlas, the book explores how privatisation, incineration, and waste enclosures displace informal recyclers and worsen the sustainability crisis. These processes exemplify “Capital Accumulation by Dispossession,” as waste streams are enclosed and privatised, excluding waste pickers, and “Capital Accumulation by Contamination,” as environmental burdens are shifted onto marginalised communities. The book also showcases waste pickers’ resilience as they organise to fight for justice and equitable waste systems. Essential for scholars, policymakers, and activists in environmental justice, development, and urban studies, this book reveals the structural drivers of waste conflicts and the transformative power of grassroots resistance in shaping sustainable and inclusive urban futures.

Table of Contents:
Preface by editors Foreword Nohra Padilla 1. Introduction Daniele Vico, Federico Demaria, and Lucia Fernández Gabard AFRICA 2. Waste Management Failures and Marginalisation of Waste Pickers in Africa – Regional introduction Amira El Halabi 3. Uncontrolled dumping and the initiative of women waste pickers: Cotonou, Benin EJAtlas Team Member 4. Zabbaleen against corporate waste management: El Cairo, Egypt Catherine Moughalian and Chandni Dwarkasing 5. Incinerator construction and landfill closures: Qalyubia, Egypt Rickie Cleere 6. The new Reppie incinerator at Koshe landfill: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Rickie Cleere 7. Koshe Landfill and biogas plant: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Carla Petricca 8. Waste pickers of Kpone landfill fight for recognition: Accra, Ghana EJAtlas team member, Karim Saagbul, Dorcas Ansah, and Vanessa Pillay 9. Waste pickers face repressive treatment and unsafe working conditions: Cape Coast, Ghana Rickie Cleere and Desmond Alugnoa 10. Hazardous e-waste recycling in Agbogbloshie: Accra, Ghana Carla Petricca, Zahra Moloo, and EJAtlas Team Member 11. Trafigura’s toxic waste scandal and closure of the Akouédo dump: Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire Zahra Moloo and EJAtlas Team Member 12. Waste pickers face harassment, exclusion, and toxic work conditions: Nakuru, Kenya EJAtlas Team Member 13. Waste-to-energy project: Kibera, Kenya Rickie Cleere 14. Relocation of municipal solid waste and informal waste management: Kisumu, Kenya Layla van der Donk 15. The precarious conditions of informal recyclers at the “city of flies”: Antananarivo, Madagascar EJAtlas Team Member 16. Disputes over waste collection: Bamako, Mali EJAtlas Team Member 17. Landfill mismanagement and waste pickers’ struggle: Casablanca, Morocco Ian Boladeres Galera, Alejandro de la Fuente Cuesta, Eduardo Veciana, Kim Hyunjung, and Emili Quintero 18. The Hulene dumpsite and waste picker protests: Maputo, Mozambique Rickie Cleere 19. The Cleaner Lagos Initiative threatens waste picker livelihoods: Lagos, Nigeria Rickie Cleere 20. Waste pickers of Mbeubeuss landfill fight against exclusion: Dakar, Senegal Camila Rolando Mazzuca and EJAtlas Team Member 21. Poor waste management threatens public health and the environment: Freetown, Sierra Leone Layla van der Donk 22. Waste pickers against privatisation: Tshwane, South Africa Rickie Cleere 23. New England Road landfill and construction of materials recovery facility: Msunduzi, South Africa Rickie Cleere 24. Pikitup’s separation-at-source program and waste picker protests: Johannesburg, South Africa Rickie Cleere 25. Averda’s privatisation of the Genesis landfill: Johannesburg, South Africa Rickie Cleere 26. Waste pickers struggle post-revolution: Tunisia Chandni Dwarkasing 27. Poor waste management leads to environmental degradation and health concerns: Kampala, Uganda Layla van der Donk 28. Waste pickers struggle for access to waste: Lusaka, Zambia EJAtlas Team Member MIDDLE EAST 29. The Intersectional Violence and Human Right Abuse of Waste Pickers in the Middle East – regional introduction Amira El Halabi 30. Economic woes, plastic packaging, and child waste pickers in “Dirt Gold Mafia”: Tehran, Iran Chandni Dwarkasing 31. International cooperation improves waste-picker conditions: Northeastern Jordan Chandni Dwarkasing 32. Waste pickers struggle for formal incorporation into legal waste-collecting framework: Ankara, Turkey Chandni Dwarkasing 33. Waste picker challenges and opportunities: Istanbul, Turkey Karla Grosse Kohorst, Andreas Halbig, Dijne Haaker, and Lisa Hall ASIA PACIFIC 34. Waste alliances: An overview of Solid Waste Management dynamics in the Asia Pacific region – regional introduction Lakshmi Narayan 35. Amin Bazar landfill threatens wetlands and farmers: Dhaka, Bangladesh Syeda Rizwana Hasan and EJAtlas Team Member 36. Precarious informal waste recycling: Dhaka, Bangladesh EJAtlas Team Member 37. Stung Meanchey landfill and waste pickers’ struggle: Phnom Penh, Cambodia Nina Clausager 38. Impact of waste management initiatives and waste import ban on waste pickers: China Olakunle Sunday Olanrewaju, Chinenye Okoye-Uzu, Xiaorong Li, and Shuhan Xu 39. Okhla waste-to-energy plant: Delhi, India Swapan Kumar Patra, Federico Demaria, and Joan Martinez-Alier 40. Waste-to-energy plant and Ghazipur landfill closure threaten informal recyclers’ livelihoods: Delhi, India EJAtlas Team Member 41. Arson at Bengaluru's dry-waste collection centre: Karnataka State, India Alina Zafar, María Pérez Manzano, Shuran Mo, Amanda Restu Hamirani, and Dea Ruçaj 42. Bantar Gebang landfill: Jakarta, Indonesia Nina Clausager 43. Protests against plan for multiple incinerators: Bandung, Indonesia Nina Clausager 44. Waste pickers risk losing livelihood as landfills modernise: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia EJAtlas Team Member 45. River pollution and waste pickers’ struggle for recognition: Kathmandu, Nepal EJAtlas Team Member 46. Marginalised informal recycling and waste-to-energy: Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan EJAtlas Team Member 47. Exploitation of child waste pickers: Karachi, Pakistan Daniele Vico and Layla van der Donk 48. Protesters resist planned incinerators despite national ban: Quezon City, Philippines Nina Clausager 49. Hazardous garbage dumping and new waste-to-energy projects: Colombo, Sri Lanka EJAtlas Team Member 50. Incineration and hazardous informal recycling: Hanoi, Vietnam EJAtlas Team Member LATIN AMERICA 51. “We cannot find another job!” An introduction to Latin America Lucía Fernández Gabard 52. Ban on animal-drawn carts: Berazategui, Argentina Valeria Calvas 53. City installs “anti-poor” waste containers contrary to waste picker rights: Buenos Aires, Argentina Valeria Calvas 54. The state company (CEAMSE) and waste management: Buenos Aires, Argentina Lucrecia Wagner 55. Aurá dump and the struggle of Belém’s informal waste pickers: Pará, Brazil EJAtlas Team Member 56. Waste pickers struggles and water contamination in Jardim Gramacho: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil EJAtlas Team Member 57. Residents and waste pickers of Sarzedo struggle against incinerators: Minas Gerais, Brazil EJAtlas Team Member 58. Incinerating urban solid waste in Barueri: São Paulo, Brazil EJAtlas Team Member 59. Waste pickers mobilise against the carbonisation of solid waste: Rondônia, Brazil EJAtlas Team Member 60. Waste pickers fight against incinerator in Mauá: São Paulo, Brazil Marcos Todt and EJAtlas Team Member 61. Prohibition of animal- and human-drawn vehicles: Porto Alegre, Brazil Marcos Todt and Alexandro Cardoso 62. Waste incineration in Curitiba: Paraná, Brazil Marcos Todt 63. Waste pickers against pollution and public policy: Federal District, Brazil Francisco Venes and Grettel Navas 64. City hall hampers activities of waste picker cooperatives: São Paulo, Brazil Marcos Todt 65. Waste pickers mobilisation against incinerator in São Bernardo do Campo: São Paulo, Brazil Alice Kasznar and EJAtlas Team Member 66. Policy change puts inclusive waste pickers’ labour practices at risk: Bogota, Colombia Valeria Calvas 67. Waste pickers fight exclusion at eco-park Rafey: Santiago, Dominican Republic EJAtlas Team Member 68. Waste pickers face insecurity and toxic conditions at Zona 3 dumpsite: Guate, Guatemala EJAtlas Team Member 69. Garbage woes and attempts to include waste pickers: Georgetown, Guyana EJAtlas Team Member 70. Waste pickers fight for formalisation and the right to work: Mérida, Mexico Marcos Todt 71. Veolia waste-to-energy incineration plant: Mexico City, Mexico Valeria Calvas 72. The La Chureca dumpsite enclosure: Managua, Nicaragua EJAtlas Team Member 73. Waste pickers fight for labour and human rights: Cerro Patacón, Panama Joseph Carter, Isobel Bishai, Kaoutar Haddouti, Lucas Leitz, Eleonore (Yi-Hsin) Hung, and Ghina Sawan 74. Waste pickers lose access to recyclable waste from closure of dumpsite: Panama Valeria Calvas 75. Ban on animal-drawn carts jeopardises waste picker livelihoods: Montevideo, Uruguay Valeria Calvas 76. The landfill of Cambalache: Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela Emiliano Teran Mantovani 77. Afterword Additional annotated bibliography ANNEX 1 Resolution 5: Just Transition for International Campaign to Promote Integration in Waste Management and Strong Social Safety Net ANNEX 2 Constitution of the International Alliance of Waste Pickers