868
What D
etermine Ragpickers’ Movement and
Location Selection?
–
A Qualitative Study in
Depok City
*
Putri Intan Adella, Triarko Nurlambang and Hafid Setiadi
1
Department of Geography, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia; Data was collected through observation and in-depth interviews with 13 selected ragpickers. Secondary data was obtained from 2014 land use map of Depok, demography report and waste management regulation in Depok Government. The data was analyzed by using qualitative data method. This study found that ragpickers determine main location and alternative locations. Their working location selection is decided based on some factors i.e. location characteristics and individual preferences. The location characteristics are the operational time of the waste picker, the community's habit of choosing the waste, and the rules within the location. Meanwhile, the individual preferences are distance, time and competition among ragpickers. The choice of location is linked to gender identity and the length of ragpickers experience. This study also found that the more experienced ragpickers moved to landfills within certain times, whereas less experienced ragpickers choice different working location to avoid competition.
Keywords: ragpickers, location, landfills, movement, Depok.
Introduction
In 2017, the waste generated in Depok City reaches 1200 tons / day, but the government through Depok City Sanitation and Gardening Department is only able to transport 700 tons of garbage / day, and can only sort out 250 tons / day so the remaining 550 tons are transported into a timbulan garbage in Cipayung Landfill, whereas non-transported garbage reach 400 ton1. Garbage problem in Depok City creates economic opportunity for garbage business, one of them ragpickers.
869 Ragpickers can be a solution to waste management problems in Depok City. Ragpickers are a starting point in the recycling industry by collecting garbage from its source before being distributed to production sites. Everyday ragpickers collecting garbage from one location to another can be observed in the context of space and time. Human activity in space can be explained as spatial behavior. Golledge (1997) in his book Spatial Behavior: A Geographic Perspective explains that every individual, group, or institution always performs decision-making processes in a spatial context to perform its functions in space. The spatial behavior of a person with another does not have to be the same, because every individual has their own uniqueness and the behavior can change at any time so that the pattern of individual movements with each other is not the same.
This paper seeks to explain how the selection and movement of ragpickers to the location of waste collection. This study looks at the daily ragpickers from the point of view of human geography, especially the spatial behavior of individuals. The initial households seek to meet their needs. In planning the movement, the individual will choose which location will be addressed. The result of the site selection process is the individual determining the primary location and the alternative location. The main location can be defined as an ideal location to meet the needs and most closely approximates the individual's preferences, whereas the alternative location is the available location when the primary location cannot meet the needs of some of the individual needs due to various obstacles.
The movement is taken from the activities undertaken by the individual. In research conducted Kees Mat and Theo Arentze (2002) found that there is a relationship between socio-demographic such as age, gender, individual work with the pattern of activity. Janssens (2012) explains that the participation of individual activities is limited by the availability of time, location characteristics such as rules, activities taking place in the location and the operational time of the location, and individual personal preference itself such as distance and time to move and so on. So it can be concluded that the identity attached to a person (socio demographic), personal preferences, and location characteristics affect the movement of a person.
Research Method
This research is a qualitative research by way of in-depth-interview and field observation on 13 ragpickers who live in 10 working sites spread in 3 districts with the densest population in Depok City, Beji Sub-district, Sukmajaya District and Pancoran Mas Sub-district. Prior to field observation, secondary data such as land use map of Depok, demography report and waste management regulation in Depok Government were collected to provide an overview of the research area. All activities, tracks and ragpickers routes during garbage collection are recorded and recorded.
870 ragpickers exploit the profession so that the categories such as experienced male ragpickers, and so forth.
Results and Discussion
Characteristic Location of Garbage Collection Site
Location is the rate of spatial accumulation of socio-economic activity together defining demand and where this demand occurs (Rodrigue, 2006). Locations indicate the point at which activities and resources are available. From the observation, the researcher found that the location characteristic that influence the location picking up the waste by is the operational time of the ragpickers, the community habits time to dispose the garbage, and the rule and the security in that location.
Figure 1. Community habits time to dispose garbage and time of free ragpickers go
to the garbage collection site.
The level of competition in a location is also determined by the quality of garbage collected. The greater the amount of waste with good conditions at a location, the more tight the competition in that location. Good waste conditions in a place associated with the amount of waste of economic value in large quantities and well disaggregated waste conditions. From the analysis result the writer can sort the location with the biggest competition to the smallest as follows: commercial area, elite residential area, traditional market, residential area, and the last is public space.
Movement and Location Selection
871 female ragpickers. Women ragpickers have shorter working hours because they have to do housework. In addition, women ragpickers tend to avoid locations with intense competition because of possible conflicts with other bigger ragpickers.
Work experience as a scavenger of each scavenger is different. We can classify the scavenger work experience in 3 levels, experienced, inexperienced, inexperienced. Inexperience ragpickers collect garbage in only one or two locations. This is because they just become ragpickers and have a little knowledge about the environment. Less experienced ragpickers have been working for 1-2 years as ragpickers. They have several routinely visited locations to pick up trash, but the numbers are still limited. The experienced ragpickers have been working as ragpickers for about 3-5 years. They have a broad knowledge of when and where locations with the best waste. They pick up trash from many locations. They also cooperate with the surrounding community such as shop owners and the surrounding community so that they can collect large quantities of waste in the best quality so that the selling price is expensive.
From the results of field observations the authors categorize the location of picking waste by ragpickers into two categories namely the main location and alternative location. The main location is the location that becomes the largest garbage supplier for ragpickers and routinely visited by ragpickers to collect garbage, whereas the alternative location is the location of the reserve garbage supplier if the garbage collected in the main location is felt less by ragpickers. Alternate locations are also available locations and can be visited when the primary location cannot be visited. Here is a matrix of primary and alternative locations selected based on the choice of informants (ragpickers) who became the object of observation:
Table 1. Matrix of picking location of waste by Ragpickers.
872
Discussion
From the results of the analysis the authors found that there was an orderly pattern between the movement and choice of ragpickers locations with their identities that can be illustrated in the following graph:
Figure 2. Movement of ragpickers in waste collection location.
873 Less experienced male ragpickers choose traditional markets and commercial area as the main location to collect garbage. They move coincidently at the time people throw garbage at traditional markets but at commercial area they collect more garbage at a time that does not coincide with the time people throw garbage. This is because to choose the location with the quality of waste from a moderate to high level but trying to avoid competition. This is because they have not had much experience how to overcome the competition such as experienced male ragpickers. They have only a little cooperation with the surrounding community. Alternative locations they choose are public facilities and residential area. In the movement toward alternative locations, they move to coincide with the time people throw garbage in public facilities but not too coincidentally when in residential locations. This is because public facilities have more flexible rules and safeguards than in residential area.
On inexperienced males’ ragpickers, elite residential area to be the prime location of garbage collecting and residential area as alternative locations of garbage collection. The locations they visit are still small due to their little experience, so they are trying to move in a location with good garbage quality.
In contrast to male ragpickers, all female ragpickers choose the location and time with minimal competition. Experienced female ragpickers choose the main location of traditional markets and residential area. They move on to traditional markets to coincide with the time people throw garbage so that more garbage can be collected even though the garbage collected is of medium quality. They also collect garbage in the elite residential area but do not coincide with the time of society to dispose of garbage so the competition is not too high and still get the garbage with good quality. The alternative location they choose is residential area. They move this location at a time when people are littering. This location is chosen because of the amount of waste that is available even though with poor quality. Besides the competition in this location is also low so they are easier to collect garbage.
In the less experienced female ragpickers they choose the location of collecting garbage in the elite residential area. The location they go to is less than the ragpickers of experienced women, so they try to collect the waste with the maximum at the site. They collect the garbage either coinciding with the time people throw away the garbage or not. The alternative location they choose is residential area because the location has a lot of waste that is economical though with poor quality.
In the inexperienced female ragpickers the primary location of garbage collection is the traditional market. This location was chosen because this location has a lot of economical waste with medium quality and low competition so they can collect more free waste. The chosen alternative location is a public facility because the competition at this location is low so they are easier to collect garbage.
Conclusion
From the description above can be concluded that the things that influence the choice of scavenger location in Depok city is the location characteristics of taking the waste and the identity of the gender and pengalaman pemulung. Location characteristics illustrate the competition at that location. Commercial area and elite residential area become the location with the highest competition because garbage with economic value is large and in good condition whereas the time people throw garbage at that location is very short.
874 high competition due to their shorter work time than male ragpickers.
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