Abstract

This article investigates how social enterprises providing waste collection and recycling services overcame start-up challenges and sustain their operations. Based on analysis of five cases in Tanzania, it is evident that waste collection and recycling enterprises start as entrepreneurial entities driven by the opportunity to fill the service delivery gap left by the state. Although the enterprises studied have had a social impact, they have experienced several challenges, including limited access to resources, negative perception of their activities, competition, unsupportive policies, unreliable supply of raw materials, dishonesty of staff and/or waste pickers and poor working conditions. However, the enterprises sustained themselves through good management, engaging the right teams, supporting waste pickers, marketing and networking, developing their skills, using appropriate technology, reinvesting their earnings, diversifying and being members of cooperatives. The article contributes to knowledge by combining the traditional entrepreneurship and socio-environmental entrepreneurship perspectives to explore the sustainability of waste collection and recycling enterprises.

摘要

本文调查提供废物收集和回收服务的社会企业如何克服初创挑战并维持其运营。通过对坦桑尼亚五个案例的分析，很明显，垃圾收集和回收企业开始是由创业实体驱动的，以填补国家留下的服务提供空白的机会。尽管所研究的企业产生了社会影响，但它们也遇到了一些挑战，包括资源获取有限、对其活动的负面看法、竞争、不支持的政策、原材料供应不可靠、员工和/或拾荒者不诚实以及工作不善使适应。然而，企业通过良好的管理、聘请合适的团队、支持拾荒者、营销和网络、发展他们的技能，使用适当的技术，将他们的收入再投资，多样化并成为合​​作社的成员。本文通过结合传统创业和社会环境创业视角来探索垃圾收集和回收企业的可持续性，从而为知识做出贡献。