The Role of Waste Pickers in Solid Waste Management for Sustainability in Developing Cities

The management of solid waste is a great challenge for many city authorities in developing countries, and this can be greatly attributed to the increasing generation of waste, a burden of enormous costs, associated with management, the knowledge gap on factors affecting different stages in the management of waste, and the affiliation of stakeholders for this paper waste pickers’ roles and functions. The great literature of work was compiled to draw and analyze the different roles pivoted by waste pickers and the waste picking activity wherein naturing their function in the management of solid waste in developing cities with a purpose of attaining sustainable development. The objective of this research is to justify the position and role of waste pickers as major stakeholders in solid waste management and their function in the sustainability of the environment in developing cities. The possible outcomes of this research are to improve solid waste management through cheaper alternatives such as waste picking and also help in the planning and policy-making processes to ensure proper implementation of waste management systems in developing cities for the attainment of sustainable development.