Plastic Waste Management in Morocco: A Sociological Reflection about the Informal Sector in the Circular Economy

Article Sidebar

pdf (Galego) xml (Galego) html (Galego) xml (Español) pdf (Español) html (Español)
Published: 10-11-2023

Main Article Content

Iria Vázquez Silva
Grupo de Estudios en Trabajo Social: Investigación y Tansferencia, Departamento de Sociología, Ciencia Política y de la Administración y Filosofía. Universidade de Vigo
Spain
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7702-0662
Biography
Javier de Rivera Outomuro
Grupo Post-growth Innovation Lab., Departamento de Sociología, Ciencia Política y de la Administración y Filosofía, Universidade de Vigo
Spain
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7333-646X
Biography
Vol 33 No 2 (2024): Special Issue. Circular economy, sustainability and degrowth, Articles, pages 1-19
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15304/rge.33.2.9285
Submitted: 30-06-2023 Accepted: 14-09-2023 Published: 10-11-2023
Copyright How to Cite

Abstract

This article presents a case study on the link between the management of plastic waste in Morocco (mainly in Casablanca and Rabat) and the divergent working conditions of workers (formal and informal) that conforme the sector, in the context of transformation of the sector towards the Circular Economy (CE). To such an end, we take into account the perspective of multiple experts in the field, as well as the public administration in charge of managing the transition process, the private business sector and the informal collectors themselves. This approach allowed us to understand the complexities and nuances of the transition of waste management in Morocco and to identify the main challenges in terms of social justice associated with the change towards a Circular Economy.

Keywords:

waste collectors, circular economy., informal economy, social justice, Morocco
Cited by

Article Details

Funding data

References

Chokhandre, P., Singh, S., & Kashyap, G.C. (2017). Prevalence, predictors and economic burden of morbidities among waste-pickers of Mumbai, India: a cross-sectional study. Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12995-017-0176-3

Cirelli, C., & Florin, B. (Eds.) (2015). Sociétés urbaines et déchets. Éclairages internationaux, Tours: Presses universitaires François-Rabelais.

Cirelli, C., Florin, B., & de Bercegol, R. (2019). Picturing Waste. Materials, bodies and practices. EchoGéo, 47, 1-31. https://doi.org/10.4000/echogeo.18549

Colombo, L. A., Pansera, M., & Owen, R. (2019). The discourse of eco-innovation in the European Union: An analysis of the Eco-Innovation Action Plan and Horizon 2020. Journal of Cleaner Production, 214, 653–665. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.12.150

Comisión Europea (2018). A European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy. Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, 28. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:2df5d1d2-fac7-11e7-b8f5-01aa75ed71a1.0001.02/DOC_1&format=PDF

Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (2014). Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory. SAGE Publications.

Dias, S. M. (2016). Waste pickers and cities. Environment and Urbanization, 28(2), 375-390. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247816657302

Dahchour, A., & Hajjaji, S. E. (2020). Management of Solid Waste in Morocco. In A. M. Negm & N. Shareef (Eds.), Waste Management in MENA Regions (pp. 13–33). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18350-9

El Ghoufi, D., & Arib, F. (2019). L’innovation sociale, une réponse aux défis sociaux et environnementaux: cas d’une coopérative marocaine de recyclage de déchets. Repères et Perspectives Economiques, 3(2), 155 -174. https://doi.org/10.34874/IMIST.PRSM/RPE/16994

Ez-Zaouine, J., & Elouidani, A. (2019). Contribution de la sphere informelle a l’economie Marocaine: Quelles mesures de transition vers l’economie formale. Cas de la cooperative Attawafouk de tri des dechets. Revue Marocaine de recherche en management et marketing, 19, 279-302. https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.3679469

Fekri, A., Pineau, J.-L., Wahbi, M., Benbouziane, A., & Marrakchi, C. (2006). Les lixiviats de la décharge de déchets urbains de la ville de Casablanca (Maroc), une pollution annoncée. Environnement, Ingénierie & Développement, 42,4-6. https://doi.org/10.4267/dechets-sciences-techniques.1776

Fernández, L. & Chen, M. (2015, 4 de diciembre). Recycling Livelihoods. A Global Network Supports Waste Pickers in Latin America. ReVisTa. Harvard Review of Latin América, 2. https://revista.drclas.harvard.edu/recycling-livelihoods/

Florin, B. (2015). Réforme, crise, ajustements et malentendus entre acteurs: quand la question des déchets deient un problème public. L’exemple du Caire (Égypte). En Cirelli, C., & Florin, B. (Eds.) Sociétés urbaines et déchets. Éclairages internationaux, Tours: Presses universitaires François-Rabelais, 239-268.

Florin, B. (2016). Les récupérateurs de déchets à Casablanca: L’«inclusion perverse» de travailleurs à la marge. Sociologie et Sociétés, 47(1), 73–96. https://doi.org/10.7202/1034419ar

Florin, B., Azaitraoui, M., & Garret, P. (2017). The small hands of Moroccan recycling. The Conversation. https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-01718517

Friant, M. C., Vermeulen, W. J., & Salomone, R. (2021). Analysing European Union circular economy policies: Words versus actions. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 27, 337-353. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2020.11.001

Fundación Ellen MacArthur Foundation, & Foro Económico Mundial (2017). The New Plastics Economy – Catalysing Action. West Cowes, UK: Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

Garret, P., & Florin, B. (2018). Rien ne se perd, tout se récupère! Pour une reconnaissance des récupérateurs informels de Casablanca. Revue Urbanités 11, 1-23.

Genovese, A., & Pansera, M. (2021). The Circular Economy at a Crossroads: Technocratic Eco-Modernism or Convivial Technology for Social Revolution? Capitalism Nature Socialism, 32 (2), 95-113. https://doi.org/10.1080/10455752.2020.1763414Ghisellini

Ghisellini, P.; Cialani, C., & Ulgiati, S. (2016). A review on circular economy: the expected transition to a balanced interplay of environmental and economic systems. Journal of Cleaner Production, 114, 11-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.09.007

Giampietro, M., & Funtowicz, S. O. (2020). From elite folk science to the policy legend of the circular economy. Environmental Science and Policy, 109, 64–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2020.04.012

Giannotta, A.K. (2022). Making Place for Waste: Governance Between the Formal and Informal by Casablancan Waste collection and Collectors. Diacronie. Studi di Storia Contemporanea, 44. https://www.studistorici.com/2020/12/29/giannotta_numero_44/

Harvey, D. (2018). Justicia, naturaleza y la geografía de la diferencia, Madrid: Traficantes de sueños.

Hoornweg, D., & Bhada-Tata, P. (2012). What a waste: A global review of solid waste management. Washington, D.C: The World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/17388

ICEX, Oficina Económica y Comercial de la Embajada de España en Rabat (2020). Gestión de residuos de plástico en Marruecos. https://www.icex.es/content/dam/es/icex/oficinas/097/documentos/2020/12/documentos-anexos/DOC2020866556.pdf.

Jambeck, J. R., Geyer, R., Wilcox, C., Siegler, T. R., Perryman, M., Andrady, A., Narayan, R., & Law, K. L. (2015). Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean. Science, 347(6223), 768-771. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1260352

Jambeck, J., Hardesty, B. D., Brooks, A. L., Friend, T., Teleki, K., Fabres, J., Beaudoin, Y., Bamba, A., Francis, J., Ribbink, A. J., Baleta, T., Bouwman, H., Knox, J., & Wilcox, C. (2018). Challenges and emerging solutions to the land-based plastic waste issue in Africa. Marine Policy, 96, 256-263.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2017.10.041

Jasanoff, S. (2007). Technologies of humility. Nature, 450(7166), 33. https://doi.org/10.1038/450033a

Kaza, S., Yao, L. C., Bhada-Tata, P., &Van Woerden, F. (2018). What a Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050. Urban Development. Washington, D.C: The World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/30317

Kirchherr, J., & van Santen, R. (2019). Research on the circular economy: A critique of the field. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 151, 104480. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.104480

Leslie, H.A., Leonards, Pim, Brandsma, S., Boer, J. & Jonkers, N. (2016). Propelling plastics into the circular economy- weeding out the toxics first. Environment International, 94, 230-234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2016.05.012

Martínez, B., & Barca, S. (2023). Gender Justice and Circular Economy. https://just2ce.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Attachment_0.pdf

Medina, M. (2008). The informal recycling sector in developing countries: Organizing waste pickers to enhance their impact. Washington D.C: The World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/10586

MTEDD. Ministère de la Transition Énergetique et du development Durable (2022). L’écotaxe au service du développement de la filière de recyclage du plastique. http://www.environnement.gov.ma/fr/component/content/article?id=633

Pansera, M., Genovese, A., & Ripa, M. (2021). Politicising Circular Economy: what can we learn from Responsible Innovation? Journal of Responsible Innovation, 8(3), 471-477. https://doi.org/10.1080/23299460.2021.1923315

Parra, F. (2015). Reciclaje: ¡Sí, pero con recicladores! Gestión pública del aprovechamiento con inclusión de recicladores: Un nuevo paradigma en el manejo de los residuos en Bogotá, Colombia. Cambridge, Estados Unidos: Wiego.

Parra, F (2020). The Struggle of Waste Pickers in Colombia: From being considered trash, to being recognised as workers. Anti-Trafficking Review, 15, 122–136. https://doi.org/10.14197/atr.201220157

Pérez Orozco, A. (2014). Subversión de la economía feminista. Madrid: Traficantes de Sueños.

Portelli, S., & Lees, L. (2018). Eviction and Displacement from the Neighbourhood of Douar Wasti in Casablanca, Morocco. International Journal or Urban and Regional Research, The Urban Now, 1-4. https://www.ijurr.org/news/eviction-and-displacement-from-the-neighbourhood-of-douar-wasti-in-casablanca-morocco/

Rachid, A. (2020). Morocco’s Plastic Plague: A formal system… with informal connections. En Khouri, C. (Ed.) Plastic Atlas. Facts and figures about the world of synthetic polymers, 56-57. Berlín: Heinrich Böll Foundation. https://ps.boell.org/sites/default/files/2020-12/FINAL_Plastic%20Atlas%202020%20-%20English%20-%20DEC.pdf

Rip, A., & Voß, J.P. (2013). Umbrella terms as mediators in the governance of emerging science and technology. Science, technology & innovation studies, STI studies, (online), 9 (2), 39-59. https://depositonce.tu-berlin.de/items/57e11ef5-9a3c-432a-9819-85368ba64a10

Raveendran, G. & Vanek, J. (2020). Informal Workers in India: A Statistical Profile. Wiego Statistical Brief, 24. https://www.wiego.org/sites/default/files/publications/file/WIEGO_Statistical_Brief_N24_India.pdf

Rochman, C. M., Browne, M. A., Halpern, B. S., Hentschel, B. T., Hoh, E., Karapanagioti, H. K., Rios-Mendoza,L. R, Hideshige, S. T., & Thompson, R. C. (2013). Classify plastic waste as hazardous. Nature, 494(7436), 169-171. https://doi.org/10.1038/494169a

Schröder, P., & Barrie, J. (2022). Is going circular just? Environmental justice and just transition- key elements for an inclusive circular economy. Field Actions Science Reports. The Journal of Field Actions, Special Issue 24, 20-25. http://journals.openedition.org/factsreports/6864

Suárez-Eiroa, B., Fernández, E., & Méndez, G. (2021). Integration of the circular economy paradigm under the just and safe operating space narrative: Twelve operational principles based on circularity, sustainability and resilience. Journal of Cleaner Production, 322, 129071. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.129071

Wilson, D. C., Velis, C., & Cheeseman, C. (2006). Role of informal sector recycling in waste management in developing countries. Habitat International, 30(4), 797–808. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2005.09.005

Zwiers, J., Jaeger-Erben, M., & Hofmann, F. (2020). Circular literacy. A knowledge-based approach to the circular economy. Culture and Organization, 26(2), 121–141. https://doi.org/10.1080/14759551.2019.1709065

Most read articles by the same author(s)