Driving Green Job Opportunities in Sustainable Waste Management through Co-Production Strategies: Informal Recycling Workers, Municipalities, and the National Agenda—A Case Study of İzmir

Abstract

Informal recycling workers (IRWs), including waste pickers (WPs) and waste sorters, are essential constituents of sustainable ecosystems in many cities in the Global South. Despite their valuable contributions to the economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable urban waste recycling, most IRWs work in precarious conditions. This paper examines recent efforts by local municipalities in Izmir to implement co-production design as a new institutional arrangement to generate green jobs for informal workers that provide high and stable incomes, job security, and social recognition. Using qualitative analyses of recent developments in the legal framework and in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, this paper identifies the following challenges associated with the current co-production efforts as its main findings: the lack of fiscal and legislative support from the central government; failure to include all IRWs in the co-production schemes; and the potential exclusion of marginalized communities due to the arbitrary requirements of a security clearance, which limit the inclusion of IRWs in co-production efforts.