Recycling the City: the Impact of Urban Change on the Informal Waste-Recovery Trade in Hanoi, Vietnam
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RECYCLING THE CITY: THE IMPACT OF URBAN CHANGE ON THE INFORMAL WASTE-RECOVERY TRADE IN HANOI, VIETNAM By Carrie L. Mitchell A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Geography University of Toronto Copyright by Carrie L. Mitchell 2008 ii Recycling the City: The Impact of Urban Change on the Informal Waste-Recovery Trade in Hanoi, Vietnam Doctor of Philosophy, 2008 Carrie L. Mitchell Graduate Department of Geography University of Toronto Abstract This three-paper dissertation explores how broader (and often unchallenged) changes to political economy at multiple geographic and economic scales impact long-standing ‘informal’ practices of waste recovery and recycling in Hanoi, Vietnam. This research is based on a survey of 575 informal waste collectors and 264 waste intermediaries as well as 73 in-depth interviews. Paper I engages in a critique of methodological disclosure in current academic writings on informal waste-recovery activities and discusses the methodological difficulties of researching informal populations. My aim in this paper is to highlight that the lack of methodological disclosure in waste-recovery literature is problematic because it compromises the academic rigour of this field and impedes the reliability of researchers’ policy recommendations as well as to initiate a dialogue with the aim of improving methodological rigour in waste-recovery literature. Paper II examines urbanization processes in contemporary Vietnam and how these changing spaces accommodate labour, and in turn support livelihoods. I argue that Vietnam’s globalizing economy and urban transition have been a catalyst for the growth of the informal waste collector population in Hanoi, as well as a partial player in the gendering of the industry. iii Paper III explores how one particular segment of the informal waste-recovery trade, waste intermediaries, is impacted by Hanoi’s rapid urban change. I demonstrate in this paper that 1) waste intermediaries simultaneously gain and lose as a result of Hanoi’s urban transition; and 2) the underlying forces of urban spatial change in different areas of the city are quite distinct, which will have an impact on the future of waste-recovery in Hanoi. The key findings of this dissertation are: 1) A more thorough engagement with methods and a broader approach to understanding waste-recovery actors (through an engagement with political economy at multiple geographic and economic scales) will produce a more context-appropriate and compassionate understanding of this group of urban actors. 2) The livelihoods of informal waste-recovery workers are both directly and indirectly impacted by shifts in political economy, albeit in Hanoi these impacts (both positive and negative) vary by sex and sub-occupation (with respect to waste collectors), and scale of business and location in the city (with respect to waste intermediaries). iv Acknowledgements My thesis is a direct result of the invaluable support, guidance and encouragement I have received from countless people over the years. I would like to extend my most sincere and heartfelt thanks to Professor Virginia Maclaren. Her Waste-Econ Program was my first foray into waste management in Southeast Asia and the experienced I gained in Vietnam and Laos gave me the courage to return to the region to complete my PhD research. But even more instrumental to my success was Dr. Maclaren’s tireless guidance and encouragement, both in the field and while writing my thesis in Canada. Her mentorship has been invaluable and I will be forever indebted to her for both her time and the intellectual nurturing she has provided so generously to me. I also offer my deepest thanks to Professors Amrita Daniere, Alana Boland and Hy Van Luong. Each of them kindly offered me their time, expertise, and intellectual support, which I am extremely grateful for. I am particularly thankful to Amrita Daniere, who had an intuitive ability to know when I needed an academic and/or emotional cheerleader and graciously stepped in to quell my insecurities. I would also like to thank Professors Emeriti Chris Furedy and Joe Whitney, both of whom were kind enough offer their comments and insights on this dissertation. Professors Kathi Wilson, Scott Prudham and Katharine Rankin, while not directly part of my thesis committee, generously offered me their time and expertise over the years, helping me prepare my grant applications, writing letters of reference for me, and reviewing my papers. I would also like to sincerely thank the Department of Geography’s support staff, in particular: Marianne Ishibashi, Donna Jeynes, and Ayesha Alli. These wonderful women were instrumental in helping me efficiently negotiate all matters administrative. v This success of this research is a direct result of the skill, tenacity, and enthusiasm of my research team in Vietnam. I am grateful to Nguyen Nguyet Nga, To Nhi Anh, Le Minh Ngoc, Nguyen Huong Giang, Mai Thi Thu Hue, Nguyen Linh Dan, and Nguyen Thi Huong for their tireless efforts, both in the field and during our daily translation sessions. I am especially grateful to Nguyen Nguyet Nga and To Nhi Anh, who were excellent leaders and helped me immensely in the preparation of the project, the execution of the surveys, and in the management of the team. This fieldwork would not have been possible without the administrative marvels of Tang The Cuong of NISTPASS who secured my visas, assisted me with my search for research assistants, and provided me with office space while I worked in Hanoi. I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to Dr. Nguyen Dan Son, who supported the intellectual development of this project and who kindly welcomed me into his newly formed organization. I would also like to sincerely thank Drs. Ngo Dao and Michael DiGregorio for meeting with me during my first trip to Hanoi. Their interest in this project and the supportive guidance they provided were extremely helpful during the initial stages of my research. An on the financial side, this research would not have been possible without the extremely generous support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, as well as the Dr. David Chu Scholarship in Asia Pacific Studies, which funded my fieldwork in Vietnam. Also, thanks to the School of Graduate Studies and Sir Val Duncan Travel Grants. The support of friends and family has been instrumental to my success in this research endeavor. In Vietnam, Isabelle Faucher and Yogendra Shakya were wonderful housemates and great friends. Yogendra Shakya gave me my first motorbike ride in Hanoi and provided me with extremely useful advice on hiring research assistants. My colleagues in the PhD vi program have been a wonderful source of emotional and intellectual support. Jen Forkes, Angela Loder and Kate Parizeau in particular have been magnificent friends and colleagues. Kate Parizeau opened her home to me in Toronto during the final stages of my degree when I was ‘homeless’ in Toronto. I would also like to thank my family for there ongoing support. My bother, Jeff, charitably offered to edit this entire manuscript, while his partner Erika Prosty employed her fabulous graphic arts skills to manipulate the maps in this dissertation. My father came to my technical rescue when I needed a laptop in the final stages of my writing. I owe a debt of gratitude to my mother, who travelled to Vietnam to visit me during my fieldwork, carried hundreds of my surveys home in her carry-on luggage, and, most importantly, believed in my ability to complete this dissertation and urged me to persevere through the periods of uncertainty that are part and parcel of this degree. As last, but certainly not least, I am sincerely grateful each and every waste picker, junk buyer, sidewalk depot operater and waste receiver with surveyed and/or interviewed in Hanoi during the course of this research. While I can never fully understand what it is like to ‘walk in their shoes’, I sincerely thank them for letting me get a little closer to understanding their work and their lives. This dissertation is a direct result of their candid and open demeanors, and thus I dedicate this work to them. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................3 1.2 DEFINITIONS .............................................................................................................................................5 1.3 PAPER DESCRIPTIONS .............................................................................................................................9 1.4 THEORETICAL ENGAGEMENTS .......................................................................................................... 13 1.4.1 METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO STUDYING MOBILE & MARGINAL POPULATIONS .......................... 14 1.4.2 INFORMAL WASTE -RECOVERY LITERATURE ........................................................................................... 15 1.4.3 GLOBALIZING CITIES AND URBAN RESTRUCTURING LITERATURE .......................................................... 17 1.5 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................... 20 PAPER I 2.1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 26 2.2 INFORMAL