The motivations of young people moving into medical waste scavenging as a street career

Abstract

This paper discusses the impact of sociocultural exclusion influences and biographical disruptions on adolescents moving into street involvement associated with hazardous medical waste scavenging. Data were collected in Dhaka, Bangladesh, using a variety of qualitative techniques, including adaptive sampling for roaming populations. Observation distinguished a distinct group of people (‘medical waste scavengers’) who were involved in unauthorised scavenging and reselling of medical waste. This trade is linked to homelessness, sexual abuse and drug use. These individuals have given accounts of underprivileged family backgrounds, exclusion due to ethnicity or caste, and of horrific experiences through early childhood and adolescence. From this difficult position, they have demonstrated flexibility and resilience to develop the street competence required to survive by specialising in scavenging extremely hazardous items to be repackaged and resold to the community.

Keywords:

• medical waste
• scavenger
• homelessness
• street activity
• social exclusion

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge financial support from Charles Wallace Bangladesh Trust, the Charles Wallace Trust UK, The Gilchrist Trust, The S.A. Ziauddin Trust, Mountbatten Memorial Grant, The Hammond Trust, The Leche Trust and The Churches Commission Overseas Trust for data collection in Bangladesh. We also thank Dr Lucina Q. Uddin, Instructor, Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, 780 Welch Road, Suite 201, Stanford, CA 94304, USA, for her helpful comments, critical reading and English editing of the manuscript. We also thank Linda Chambers, School Manager, and Shirley Marshall, Senior Lecturer, School of Science and Engineering, Teesside University, for their continued financial support.