Waste pickers and collectors constitute the bottom layer of waste recycling in the metropolis of Delhi. Pickers collect waste just by picking it up from public places such as garbage dumps and the streets, whereas collectors purchase waste from waste producers such as households and shops for sale to high-level waste traders. Most pickers have incomes below the poverty line set by the Planning Commission of India, whereas the majority of collectors earn marginally higher than the poverty-line income. The poverty of pickers is not transitory but chronic as they have no connection to enter the community of collectors and higher-level waste traders. Despite their low economic and social status, pickers and collectors are making important contributions to society. They are adding more value than their own income to waste producers' income and to the saving of the city government's expenditure for disposing waste.
