Abstract:
This article examines how the scrap-handling/recycling system in Myanmar has adopted
mobile telephony in its day-to-day operations, and how this has led to a rationalization of
the sector. It focuses on work processes, information and price retrieval, risk management,
efficiency, and coordination. Scrap-handlers and ragpickers in four townships of Myanmar
were interviewed in three phases of fieldwork, and their mobile phone use was also
observed. The findings provide insight into how mobile communication can streamline the
day-to-day workings of a sector, and also the disadvantages experienced by those who do
not have a mobile phone.