ReCycling: Creating markets from waste
This brief examines a field experiment in Quelimane, Mozambique, that introduced bicycle taxi drivers as recyclable waste collectors. The programme significantly increased household waste separation, created a new recycling channel and generated additional income for cyclists without reducing their taxi earnings. Although awareness of the programme spread through local communities, improved recycling behaviour was limited to households with access to the collection service. The findings also suggest that while private market solutions can improve waste management, they may reduce incentives for community-led collective action.
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Mendonca-Policy-Brief-June-2026.pdf
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- This policy brief explores findings from a field experiment that introduces bicycle taxi drivers as intermediaries for recyclable waste collection in Quelimane, an expanding city in Mozambique.
- Household recyclable waste separation has increased significantly, and there has been a shift towards the new disposal channel.
- Cyclists gained new income from waste collection without crowding out taxi earnings; their improved outside option allowed them to raise the price per taxi ride.
- Neighbours of treated households were less likely than the control group to separate recyclables, despite being more aware of the programme. This demonstrates that even as information spreads, behaviour only changes where access exists.
- Treated households contributed significantly less to a threshold public goods game for joint recycling collection, suggesting that private market creation may crowd out communities’ capacity for self-organised collective solutions.