INFORMAL RECYCLING IN ZHUHAI: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDG)

In many cities, informal recycling plays a crucial role in municipal solid waste management. This study examines the practices, challenges, and opportunities of informal recycling in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China, with comparative elaborations of its surrounding areas. Utilizing mainly qualitative research methods, including semi-structured interviews, the research explores the motivations and strategies of informal recyclers, the challenges they face, and their potential for collaboration with formal waste management systems.
The findings reveal that informal recycling in Zhuhai is a complex and multifaceted reality involving a range of stakeholders and participants, from scavengers to small processors, each facing specific challenges and opportunities. The primary motivation for informal recyclers is economic necessity, prompting them to adopt various strategies for collecting and processing valuable recyclable materials. However, they encounter significant obstacles such as high rent and transportation costs, labor shortages, restrictive waste import policies in China, fluctuations in global material prices leading to unstable incomes, and limited support from local government.
The study also identifies opportunities for sustainable development in informal recycling in Zhuhai and analyzes data collected through a questionnaire regarding citizens' waste sorting habits and their willingness to pay for resource classification and recycling processes. Identified opportunities include establishing more partnerships between informal and formal waste management stakeholders and participants, improving infrastructure, and introducing environmental taxation systems alongside the development and implementation of more consistent policies and regulations, that can guide societies towards the implementation of a Circular Economy (CE) and Sustainable Development (SD).
Overall, this research contributes to a better understanding of the role of the informal recycling sector in waste management in Zhuhai and offers insights into potential strategies for enhancing the sustainability of resource and waste management practices in the city.

在許多城市，非正規回收在城市固體廢棄物管理中扮演著至關重要的角色。本研究以中國廣東省珠海市為對象，探討當地非正規回收的實踐、面臨的挑戰及存在的機遇，並對周邊地區的情況進行比較闡述。研究主要採用定性研究方法，包括半結構化訪談，探究非正規回收者的動機與策略、他們面臨的挑戰，以及與正規廢棄物管理系統合作的潛力。 研究結果顯示，珠海的非正規回收是一個複雜且多層面的現實，涉及從拾荒者到小型加工者等一系列利益相關者和參與者，每個群體都面臨著特定的挑戰與機遇。非正規回收者的主要動機是經濟需求，這促使他們採取各種策略來收集和加工有價值的可回收材料。然而，他們面臨著諸多顯著障礙，例如高昂的租金和運輸成本、勞動力短缺、中國嚴格的廢物進口政策、全球材料價格波動導致的收入不穩定，以及地方政府的支持有限等。 該研究還指出了珠海非正規回收在可持續發展方面的機遇，並分析了通過問卷調查收集的有關市民垃圾分類習慣以及他們對資源分類和回收過程付費意願的數據。已識別的機遇包括：建立非正規與正規廢棄物管理利益相關者及參與者之間更多的合作關係、改善基礎設施、引入環境稅制，同時制定和實施更統一的政策法規，這些都能引導社會向循環經濟（CE）和可持續發展（SD）的方向邁進。 總體而言，本研究有助於更好地理解非正規回收行業在珠海廢棄物管理中的作用，並為提高該市資源和廢棄物管理實踐的可持續性提供了潛在策略的見解。