Where Waste Goes
Where Waste Goes: The Political Economy of Informal Disposal
Lead Supervisor: Caterina Gennaioli
Degree Programme: PhD Business and Management, Queen Mary Business School
Co-Supervisors:
Natalia Efremova (Queen Mary Business School)
Gaia Narciso (Trinity College Dublin)
Project Description
Why does informal waste dumping occur in some places rather than others, and who bears its costs? This project examines the political economy of waste disposal and the unequal exposure of communities to its environmental and health risks. Where formal jobs are scarce, collecting and recycling discarded materials can provide essential livelihoods, while burning and dumping may expose workers and neighbouring residents to harmful substances and contaminate soil and water. Understanding these trade-offs and how they vary across places and populations is at the heart of this PhD.
The project will examine how economic incentives, political power and local institutions shape where informal waste sites emerge and which communities are exposed. It will consider electronic waste, plastics and textiles, which differ in their value, risks and patterns of trade. The student could investigate one waste stream or compare several, asking in particular whether poorer or politically marginalised communities face greater exposure. Regulation may alter these patterns, but its effects depend on how rules are designed and enforced. The student will examine domestic policies governing waste collection, recycling and disposal alongside international agreements on waste movements. Do these rules reduce harmful disposal, or move it towards communities and countries with weaker protection? The policy questions will be refined around the chosen waste stream and setting.
A central challenge when studying this phenomenon is that informal sites rarely appear in official records, and their activity changes over time. The student will combine satellite imagery and machine learning to identify and track potential sites with data on trade, regulation, elections, local economies, population and health. Where feasible, local evidence will help check and interpret the imagery. Together, these sources can reveal the drivers and unequal consequences of disposal and help evaluate policy responses. The findings will inform policies that protect exposed communities while recognising the income waste work provides. Ghana and Nigeria are possible settings based on the supervisors' earlier work; the student will help choose the country and waste stream according to their interests, data and partnerships.
What we're looking for in a student
We welcome applicants with a strong quantitative background, for example in economics, development studies, environmental science, data science, geography or a related field. Experience with statistics or econometrics, and an interest in spatial data, coding and environmental justice, would be valuable. Applicants need not already be experts in satellite imagery or machine learning: training and guidance in remote sensing and site detection will be provided through the supervisory team, alongside support in causal analysis and development economics. The student should be keen to work across disciplines and, where feasible, with local partners and communities.
Key words: Informal Waste Disposal, Political Economy, Environmental Inequality, Remote Sensing