Final answer:
Municipalities benefit financially from the activities of informal waste pickers as these individuals reduce the municipal waste burden and associated costs.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to Samson, municipalities gain from the activities of informal waste pickers by reducing the amount of waste that needs to be managed, which subsequently saves money for city services responsible for waste disposal. The presence of waste pickers in the local economy can offer direct and indirect financial benefits to municipalities. Waste pickers contribute to the economy by collecting, sorting, and reselling recyclable materials that would otherwise contribute to the municipal solid waste stream. This service reduces the municipal costs of garbage collection and disposal since less waste requires processing. In addition, marginal analysis suggests that if the marginal costs of clean-up are higher than the marginal benefits, such as in situations where waste pickers are present, municipalities could allocate resources more effectively, thus optimizing economic efficiency within the city.