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

Table 4. Informal sector

Leading questions

Reasoning for the questions

Landfill pickers

Who does what?

Divisions of labour.

Who makes the decisions about who does what?

Mobility.

Who brings waste to the recycling points?

Access to resources.

Who receives reimbursement?

Mapping out responsibilities of men and women.

What do your husbands or wives think about your job (as landfill pickers)?

Are there any domestic conflicts and violence as a result of your job (as landfill pickers)?

Informal collection (e.g. door picking, bicycle collection)

Who is involved in informal waste collection?

Divisions of labour. Access to resources. Safety measures.

Are you/they organized and how? Who organizes informal waste collection?

Who receives reimbursement?

How is the relationship with the municipality and/or any waste disposal/recycling companies? Do you think there is good mutual understanding and respect? If so, who in your group takes the initiative to communicate with them (male/female)? If not, do you see any difficulties and/or conflicts in your work, which you would like to improve?

Informal recycling

Similar questions as those above (who does what, who makes the decisions, who controls profits, etc.)

From informal to formal

Has there ever been an occurrence of women being excluded from the newly paid work?

Potential risks for women (and men) currently involved in the informal waste sector as it becomes formalized.

98 Gender and waste nexus