Environmental Change and The Informal Plastic Recycling Networks of Kolkata
Year of Publication
2020
This article introduces plastic recycling networks in Kolkata, India, as a case to illustrate the contradictory entanglement of economic and environmental change in urban informal contexts of the Global South.
Source:
Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography
Author(s):
Nicolas Schlitz
Geography:
India
Type:
Data
Purpose of Measurement:
Understanding the Problem
Impact theme(s):
Material Flows
This article introduces plastic recycling networks in Kolkata, India, as a case to illustrate the contradictory entanglement of economic and environmental change in urban informal contexts of the Global South. In addition, it discusses plastic recyclers’ environmental impact and contribution as well as the potential to enhance the environmental and economic performance of their business. Based on an assessment of the social and political conditions of informality under which plastic recyclers operate, the adoption of common assumptions about ecological modernization imbuing parts of Environmental Economic Geography is called into question.