Case study

Going to waste

A stuck partnership at a waste reclaiming centre

Key Actors

Multiple municipal departments, non-profits, waste reclaimers

Isaac is stumped. He looks out the window of his municipal office at the passing traffic, hoping for inspiration to emerge from the exhaust fumes of people still on their way to work. He has done everything he can think of to get his colleagues on board with the idea, but they are refusing to budge. The metro-owned waste reclaimer centre downtown has been operating way below full capacity, something that has worried him for many months now. The waste reclaiming centre is not only an integral part of efforts to have a cleaner inner city, but also a key way for the large number of informal waste reclaimers to improve their income, be safer, and have a more dignified work environment. The municipality really can’t afford to miss out on the opportunities provided by this centre, but has been struggling to mobilise resources to operate and manage it at full capacity. The metro has been using its procedures to register a small number of users, but the vast majority of waste reclaimers in the area don’t have access.

When a local non-profit with unique relationships and expert capacity to support approached Isaac and offered to assist in running the facility, he was overjoyed. He could not have thought of a better solution to the problem and finally saw an end to his sleepless nights. He’s still trying to process the response from his colleagues.

“They don’t understand our operating procedures.”
“It will cause more administrative headaches than it’s worth.”
“They will open it up to everyone, we need to make sure only permitted users have access.”
“Why would the non-profit want to do such a thing? Can we really trust them?”

How can Isaac find a way through this that will allow the partnership to move forward, be acceptable to key metro departments and the non-profit, and still benefit the reclaimers?


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