How informal urban labour creates value from waste
How informal urban labour creates value from waste
By SMU City Perspectives team
Published 18 November, 2024
You know, in Singapore's case, the karang guni has become rarer. They're not as ubiquitous as they used to be. You don't hear them tooting their horns on Saturdays and Sundays like we used to all that often anymore. What have we done to support these informal economy workers, like karang guni, in their transition towards other forms of peer employment?
Aidan Wong
Assistant Professor of Urban Studies (Education)
In brief
- Anything considered waste contains more value than just being something to discard into a landfill or incinerator. It’s important to think of out-of-the-box ideas to address waste problems in urban environments.
- Informal labour, like Malaysia and Singapore’s karang guni, have a significant role to play in transforming waste into something valuable.
- Singapore's karang guni have become a rarer sight in recent years which shows the need to support informal economy workers
Do we actually use up all the value in an item every time we consume it? Do we take up all of the value just because we have drunk a can of Coke? Yeah, you've drunk the can of Coke but in terms of the aluminium can, there's still value in that to be considered.
Methodology & References
- Wong, A. M. (2022). Valued waste/wasted value: Waste, value and the labour process in electronic waste recycling in Singapore and Malaysia. Geography Compass, 16(4). https://doi.org/10.1111/gec3.12616