THIS BOOK DEALS with “formal” and “informal” handling of organic and inorganic solid waste in the Indian city of Bangalore, analyzing both municipal services and the conditions and activities of people who make a living from waste. The book consists of a series of articles by a group of Indian and Dutch contributors on the topic of solid waste management in Bangalore, resulting from a workshop in Bangalore in 1994. The articles deal with a variety of issues with a particular focus on recycling, waste management and waste related employment, and looks at the roles of local government, NGOs, ragpickers and entrepreneurs, and how these groups could co-operate to deal more effectively with waste management. The book combines case study material and more theoretical analysis, and the focus of analysis is both on the organizational and political aspects of waste management and on the technical aspects of waste management. More traditional proposals for improvement are compared to newer, alternative approaches based on concepts such as “resource recognition” and approaches which stress social and ecological goals rather than technical considerations. Thus, the book proposes a more integrated structure of waste management with stronger involvement by a diversity of actors and the recognition of links between the formal and informal waste disposal and collection systems.