Gender and Waste Nexus: Experiences from Bhutan, Mongolia and Nepal

Structures and conditions of the waste sector

As described in chapter 1, the waste sector is situated within broader political, socioeconomic and global structures and conditions that determine the fundamentals of the industry, the functioning of the sector and the gendered relationships throughout. All of these structures are gender relevant in both specific and overarchingways. Bothglobal trends and local conditions contribute to the gendering of thewaste sector in Bhutan, Mongolia and Nepal. Policy interventions can transform waste management into a more gender-equal sector and in doing so, secure basic human right principles and provide an avenue for implementing governmental commitments to gender equality. Whether the waste sector continues in a business-as-usual direction or moves towards gender equality may be determined by the extent to which it embraces gender-informed policymaking and gender mainstreaming. As a large economic sector, waste management is increasingly globally financialized and marketized. 19 However, globally women’s representation in the sector is limited. Women are not represented in the higher levels of global waste management or in international waste consortia. In addition, women are not represented in circles of globalized capital, with all evidence to date suggesting that women do not equally share the financial rewards of market financialization in any sector. In globally marketized industries, financial reward and wealth is both concentrated and masculinized (Oxfam 2016; Gonzales et al. 2015). In all three countries, waste management is an economic sector that provides important livelihood opportunities to individuals and households. These opportunities are greater in urban areas than in remote locations, as the higher population density and consumption power lead to greater waste generation. Field evidence in the three countries reveals that women are more associated with the upper levels of the waste hierarchy (see Figure 1) – prevention, minimization, reuse and recycling – but are marginally connected with the business aspects, whereas men dominate upper-level administration in both the public and private sectors, in roles ranging from city managers and planners to landfill operators andmanagers ofwaste collection companies. Althoughwomen are active in avoiding and reusing waste, often through informal or volunteer community initiatives, they are almost never present at transactional levels of the sector. All three countries currently have a mix of public and private engagement in waste management. In Mongolia and Nepal, informal recycling activities are particularly prominent and involve waste pickers at transfer stations

and landfills, small-enterprise scrap dealers and scrap traders. Even though these activities arewell established in Bhutan, Mongolia and Nepal, the informal sector is not recognized or protected by the three respective governments. In addition, in the case of Nepal where there is high turnover of secondary materials due to population density, the revenues from recycling do not stay in the country, but are exported out of the country along with the goods themselves. The fact that the recycling sector can contribute revenue to national budgets and create employment opportunities has not yet been incorporated into decision-making levels in the three countries. Although recycling and waste segregation are becoming more formalized (particularly in Bhutan), these activities still involve more informal activities, such as waste picking at landfills and small-enterprise private initiatives. Moving these informal activities into a more formal business will not only alter the waste stream, but will also have positive economic impacts, such as the development of innovative recycling schemes. Currently, informal recycling is a robust sector that may help to lift people out of poverty. Displacing these informal activities with formal and more technologically sophisticated approaches will have both positive and negative socioeconomic effects, which will be gendered. As the waste sector becomes increasingly modernized withvarious newtechnologies, higher levels of education and trainingwill be required – a shift that is already under way in all three countries. If education opportunities are not gender equal, women will be excluded from critical entry points into the sector. At present, fewer women than men enrol and complete technology-related studies as indicated by education statistics. In Bhutan, the sharpest gap in education participation is in science and engineering, where there are only 510 women enrolled compared with 1,250 men (JICA and IC Net Limited 2017). In Nepal, women account for 31 per cent of students enrolled in science and technology studies and 21 per cent enrolled in engineering studies, while in Mongolia, women account for 23 per cent of students enrolled in engineering (United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO] 2015). Education enables civic engagement and encourages responsible citizenship – two major contributions towards the development of sound waste management systems. Schools directly educate pupils and through a cascade effect indirectly educate their parents. Nepal has effectively used this system to pass on important messages about plastic consumption.

78 Gender and waste nexus