In this video taken at the Waste and Citizenship Festival in France, Roberto Prates Reis, a representative of the National Movement of Waste Pickers in Brazil (MNCR) talks about the struggle of the “biffins” of Paris to defend their livelihood.
The event “beyond the recycling, the work of waste pickers!”, that took place on last Saturday, September 21, was a resounding success! The Valoristes, a solidarity cooperative, that organized the event, managed to recuperate and divert 24,500 containers from landfills!
In this video taken at the Waste and Citizenship Festival in France, Roberto Prates Reis, National Movement of Waste Pickers (MNCR), talks about the reality of waste pickers (called “biffins”) in France, and compares them to similar struggles in Brazil.
The PRISM project (Poverty Reduction of Informal Waste Workers) recently published three videos about their work with waste pickers in Nepal.
On August 31st, the Latin American Waste Pickers’ Network wrapped up a week of meetings and activities held in Santiago, Chile (Aug. 25-31). The final activity consisted of a visit to informal recyclers of the dumpsite known as Vertedero Los Molles, in Valparaíso.
Waste pickers’ associations from seven cities in Bolivia that participated in the second national conference, marched to demand the passage of a law that recognizes them as workers and gives them the right to social security benefits.
On September 14, Costa Rican waste pickers hosted their First Waste Pickers Conference, in the city of San Jose. More than 100 recicladores from around the country participated, according to the newspaper La Nación. Their stated objective is to dignify the livelihoods of the families that collect recyclables.
In the first week of September, 246 waste pickers of the Gericinó dumpsite in Bangú, a peripheral neighborhood in the Rio de Janeiro municipality, were facing the possibility of being suddenly out of work. The workers found out that the city, which has been in the process of closing the dumpsite for many months, was going to hand management over to a private company within two weeks time and that the dumpsite would be off limits.
A report from the WIEGO/FIWON organizing project in Nigeria, which is in its final phase, says progress is being made in the seven target cities of the project. Meetings among waste pickers became regular with some centers holding meetings once or twice a month.
On the occasion of the “Waste Picker Regional Training and Consultation”, held on September 3, 2013 in Quezon City, Philippines, we stand committed and united in mind, voice, and action to attain our dreams and aspirations of a better situation and livelihood, that we may rise above our poverty and ensure a better future for our children.
In the face of the pork barrel scam that has recently shaken the country, Luzon-based waste pickers unite today to bewail corruption as a dagger driven right into their hearts, trampling on their rights for social recognition and legal protection as unsung heroes of the environment.
On August 31, as part of the Red Lacre meeting held in Chile, 15 delegates visited waste pickers in the Los Molles landfill in the city of Valparaíso, only a few days before its closure and the opening of a new one. The purpose of the visit was to show support and give motivation for local organizing and reintegration at the new landfill. Los Molles has been open for more than 30 years.
Join us by signing this letter to Mexican authorities requesting protection for Jorge Tadeo Vargas, an activist who struggles peacefully for environmental and social justice from the territories.
Waste pickers have found that collective action in defense of their rights and livelihoods is an effective solution to transforming the difficult working conditions, discrimination and harassment they face.
La cooperativa El Álamo está formada por 60 cartoneros que recuperan materiales reciclables por un total de 200 toneladas por mes, evitando que estos materiales vayan al relleno sanitario. El Gobierno de la Ciudad de Bs.As. planea construir en un mes un túnel bajo nivel reduciendo las dimensiones del actual lugar hasta convertirlo en un sitio inutilizable para la tarea que realiza la cooperativa.
The documentary “Catador”, meaning “Waste Picker”, which explores the struggle of the 246 waste pickers of Gericinó, in Rio de Janeiro, as they face the closure of the dump that has sustained them and their families. The documentary was made by Professor Andrew Mills of Northwestern University (United States) with students from th
A Montevideo bill proposed for January 2014 would create “exclusionary zones” where waste pickers and their horse-drawn carts would not be allowed to enter. The bill involves not only the exclusion of waste pickers but the privatization of recyclables only accessible to so-called “authorized” parties.
The National Waste Pickers’ Movement of Brazil (MNCR) participated on July 31st in the launch of the third edition of Cataforte, a federal program whose purpose is to strengthen waste pickers’ organizations. The objective is the restructuring of waste pickers’ networks and associations so that these solidary networks become more capable of performing recycling service for municipalities, as well as to become involved in reverse logistics (producer responsibility) and begin to commercialize their recyclable materials, with the goal of reaching 35 networks.
