News Round-Up/Noticias de la semana (español, português, english)

May 10 2012   •   Africa, Asia, In the News, Latin America    •  

ESPAÑOL

BARCELONA. “Trias esboza una cooperativa para los africanos que recogen hierro.” El País (7 abril 2012) por Camilo S. Baquero. El problema de los cientos de subsaharianos que recorren Barcelona con carritos de supermercado en busca de chatarra preocupa mucho al gobierno convergente de la ciudad. Detrás de una de las imágenes más duras de lo mal que lo están pasando muchas personas por la crisis, está el drama humano: la mayoría de ellos —unos 350 según los cálculos del Consistorio— viven en condiciones infrahumanas y okupanalgunas naves industriales del Poblenou.

ARGENTINA. “Carreros reclaman trabajo y denuncian “persecución.” La Voz (17 abril 2012). Protestaron frente a la Municipalidad y luego fueron a la Jefatura de Policía. Quieren que se renueve el convenio para cuidar basurales.

ARGENTINA. “Recicladores denuncian condiciones de trabajo inhumanas.” El Ciudadano (25 abril 2012). Con la mediación de la justicia, ARB levantó el corte y ahora queda a la espera de una audiencia de conciliación el próximo 2 de mayo.

ARGENTINA. “Caballo por motor, a favor del buen carrero y en contra del maltrato animal.” La Republica (26 abril 2012). Distintas organizaciones impulsan un proyecto para abolir la tracción a sangre. Promueven la incorporación de zootropos. Disertará en Corrientes Leonardo Anselmi, creador de la campaña Basta de Tas.

EL SALVADOR. “Recicladores, recelosos ante pronta regulación.” El Diario de Hoy (28 abril 2012) por Lilian Martinez. Pequeñas cantidades de metales preciosos se esconden entre los desechos electrónicos y en los catalizadores de los automóviles. Con la tecnología apropiada es posible extraerlos sin causar daño a la salud y al medio ambiente.

URUGUAY. “Dos planes para la crisis de la basura.” El Pais (29 abril 2012) por Carlos Cipriani Lopez. Los intendentes deciden. Varios jefes comunales mostraron su adhesión a la propuesta de una empresa de capitales norteamericanos y uruguayos La IMM apuesta a inversores italianos.

MÉXICO. “Fracasa municipio en el control de la basura.” Periódico Correo (1 maio 2012) por Viviana Álvarez. Aunque el Centro Único de Acopio (CUA) surgió hace seis meses con el objetivo de controlar el reciclaje de la basura que se genera cada día en la ciudad y que los recursos generados ingresaran al gobierno municipal, el proyecto operado por la empresa LYRBA fracasó, pues ahora existen 58 puntos clandestinos a donde los pepenadores pueden ir y vender el material que sacan de los camiones recolectores.

HONDURAS. “Pobreza desata “batalla” por la basura.” La Tribuna (1 maio 2012). En Tegucigalpa hay una “playa” de bolsas plásticas en la que buscan su pan de cada día zopilotes, vacas flacas y cientos de hondureños pobres. Esta “playa” de plástico está ubicada en el Crematorio Municipal, donde, como por arte de magia, poco a poco va desapareciendo el material reciclable que era la fuente de ingresos de una gran familia de pepenadores.

URUGUAY. “Prohíben importar a las empresas que no reciclen sus envases.” El Observador (7 maio 2012). El Ministerio de Vivienda y Aduanas exigirán la inscripción de las empresas en el registro que establece la ley, para que se hagan cargo de los residuos que generan.

URUGUAY. “Clasificadores reclaman sueldo y la IMM los volverá a censar.” El Pais (7 maio 2012) por Andrés López Reilly. Vivir de la basura. Los que trabajan en cooperativas dicen que el negocio no es redituable. La Intendencia los censará por tercera vez, lo cual genera críticas de la oposición.

PORTUGUÊS

BRASIL. MNCR Boletim. (Movimento Nacional dos Catadores de Materiais Recicláveis)

BRASIL. “Trabalho de catador deixa trabalhadores suscetíveis.” ORM (29 abril 2012). Fátima Castro, de 42 anos, é maranhense e está no Pará há mais de 30 anos. Ela é catadora de material reciclável há 35 anos, ‘quando o Aurá nem era onde é hoje’, segundo contou. Casada, a catadora disse que alguns dos oito filhos também trabalham no Aurá e caracteriza o trabalho de ‘complicado’.

BRASIL. “Mato Grosso tem projetos aprovados para elaboração de Planos de Resíduos Sólidos.” Cenário MT (30 abril 2012). Mato Grosso, por meio da Coordenadoria de Gestão de Resíduos Sólidos (CGRS), da Superintendência de Infra-Estrutura, Mineração, Indústria e Serviços (Suimis), teve aprovados, junto ao Ministério do Meio Ambiente (MMA), três projetos visando a Elaboração de Planos de Manejo de Resíduos Sólidos (Pers), de acordo com as determinações estabelecidas nos artigos 16 e 17 da Lei nº 12.305/10, que institui a Política Nacional de Resíduos Sólidos.

BRASIL. “Programa “CataForte-MS” irá capacitar 250 catadores de materiais recicláveis.” Midia Max News (1 maio 2012) por Marcos Santi. Foi lançado durante o Encontro Estadual dos Catadores de Materiais Recicláveis, realizado nesta terça-feira (1), o programa “CataForte-MS”. O projeto do Governo Federal será dividido em três etapas e irá beneficiar aproximadamente 250 catadores de materiais recicláveis de Campo Grande inscritos na iniciativa.

BRASIL. “Dia do Trabalhador: superando a desvalorização.” Correio do Brasil (1 maio 2012). Segundo o Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE), de 2000 para 2010, os profissionais com carteira de trabalho assinada aumentaram sua participação no contingente de empregados do país: saíram de 54,8% para 63,9%. Enquanto isso, no mesmo período, os sem carteira — 17,4 milhões — recuaram de 36,8% para 28,5%.

BRASIL. “Projeto social valoriza ação de catadores de recicláveis.” Blog de Olho na Gestão (2 maio 2012). Ainda que muitas vezes invisíveis, os carroceiros desempenham uma função muito importante em grandes cidades: a coleta de materiais recicláveis e sua posterior venda. Felizmente um projeto social chamado “Pimp my carroça” foi criado para dar visibilidade e aumentar o nível de consciência social sobre esta profissão informal.

BRASIL. “Lixão de Gramacho tem a mãe Lucinda da vida real.” O Globo (5 maio 2012) por Eletícia Quintão. Coração de mãe, já diz o ditado, sempre cabe mais um. Quem reafirma a frase é dona Geruza Maria dos Santos, de 62 anos, a mãe Lucinda da vida real, personagem vivida na novela “Avenida Brasil” por Vera Holtz.

BRASIL. “BNDES aprova R$ 26,3 milhões para inclusão de catadores de Curitiba.” Último Instante (9 maio 2012). O Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES) aprovou R$ 26,3 milhões ao município de Curitiba para promover a inclusão social e produtiva dos catadores de materiais recicláveis.

BRASIL. “Catadores de papel protestam contra lixo orgânico.” Paraná Online (10 maio 2012) por Eduardo Santana. Catadores de material reciclável de Piraquara realizaram hoje pela manhã uma manifestação contra o lixo orgânico, que não é recolhido pela prefeitura há mais de 14 dias.

BRASIL. “Vereadores de Maringá aprovam projeto que proíbe a incineração do lixo.” Assessoria de Imprensa (15 maio 2012) por Gelinton Batista. Por unanimidade, os vereadores de Maringá aprovaram um projeto que proíbe a incineração de resíduos no município. A restrição consta na matéria que cria o programa de coleta seletiva com inclusão social e econômica dos catadores de material reciclável – Pró-Catador.

BRASIL. “Catadores distribuem rosas na praça sete para sensibilizar a prática da coleta seletiva solidária.” Sala de Imprensa (15 maio 2012). Nesta terça-feira, 15 de maio, às 7h, quem passar pela Praça Sete, no Centro de Belo Horizonte, terá uma surpresa. Mais de 200 catadores de materiais recicláveis, de diversas regiões de Minas Gerais, farão um ato de sensibilização da população para a importância da coleta seletiva solidária.

BRASIL. “Catadores coletam dobro de lixo do que é recolhido por prefeitura de SP.” O Globo (16 maio 2012). São José dos Campos recicla 25% dos resíduos produzidos pela população. Catadores individuais e cooperativas coletam 99 toneladas de resíduos.

ENGLISH

INDIA. “For many in India, landfill is a livelihood and a home.” The Los Angeles Times (22 April 2012) by Mark Magnier. At New Delhi’s ‘trash mountain,’ some of the poorest reside and eke out a living by picking through garbage in search of bottles, metal and human hair, with dreams of joining the middle class.

INDIA. “Waste pickers have a field day in city.” India Express (26 April 2012). A week-long convention, involving as many as 500 waste pickers from over 30 cities across India and countries like Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, China, Philippines and Pakistan, began at Yashada on Tuesday. The Asian contingents will soon be joined by waste pickers and activists from African and South American countries.

INDIA. “Waste pickers from 25 countries meet.” Sakaal Times (27 May 2012). The consultation on ‘Integrating Waste pickers in Solid Management’ held in the city brought together municipal officials from 17 civic bodies and 300 waste picker delegates on a common platform, where they shared their experiences on Wednesday.

INDIA. “Struggle of a waste picker is never ending.” Sakaal Times (27 April 2012). “People in Bangladesh do not respect waste pickers. In 2011, I came to Pune for the first time and then organised 360 waste pickers in Magura. They need assistance from the Alliance of Indian Waste Pickers”, said Subhash from Bangladesh.

PHILIPPINES. “Waste pickers trained on segregation.” Iloilo News Today (1 May 2012). Now named eco-warriors, about 200 waste pickers or scavengers here underwent a training on waster segregation last April 26 at the newly-opened sanitary landfill site in Barangay Felisa.

UNITED STATES. “Trash-picking is illegal.” Other (3 May 2012) by Eric Lyttle. An astute reader of The Other Paper emailed us to inform us that the subject of the photo on our April 14 cover was pictured breaking the law. In fact, the reader wrote, our cover boy was breaking a number of laws.

INDIA. “8,500 establishments get letters to segregate garbage.” The Times of India (6 May 2012) by Prasad Kulkarni. Nearly 8,500 residential and commercial establishments have been sent letters by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to take up garbage segregation and restart their defunct biogas and vermicompost projects.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. “Scrounging life out of nothing in Sosua’s dump.” Calgary Herald (6 May 2012) by Jamie Komarnicki. Haitian-born Victor Antonio Ynoa is a chief, and a trash heap is his domain.Wearing a faded camouflage shirt and a bright Toronto Blue Jays cap, the wiry 46-year-old boss or jefe (pronounced hef-fey) of the Sosua dump surveys his realm.

INDIA. “Rag-pickers meeting begins in Delhi today.” Saakal Times (7 May 2012). In their endeavour to increase the pension of the aged people working in the unorganised sectors, 150 waste pickers of Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat left for Delhi on Saturday to join their counterparts to put forth their demand before the government.

PHILIPPINES. “Iloilo City’s Dumpsite Transforms Waste Pickers.” The Daily Guardian (8 May 2012) by Elsa S. Subong. THE DUMPSITE used to be the last recourse for people who had no choice for a living, who would risk life and limb just to have a big share of the city’s thousands of tons of garbage. Today it is not just a mountain of garbage and a people who fight with each other for sacks of solid wastes that can give them a meager P50 or P80 a day, and illnesses every now and then.

INDIA. “All waste is not waste.” Money Life Magazine (12 May 2012) by Savita Narayan. SWaCH (Solid Waste Collection and Handling)—the institutional outcome of the trade union Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat—is authorised by the Pune Municipal Corporation to manage waste right from collection at the door-step to sustainable solid waste management.

INDIA. “Waste pickers of Ghazipur.” The Indian Express (13 May 2012) by Nandini Thilak. For Subaida Bibi and many of her neighbours, the day begins at 4 am. That is when the early risers among this small community of waste pickers in Ghazipur emerge from their jhuggis to begin the slow climb up the Ghazipur landfill, the smouldering heap of garbage on which nearly 600 waste pickers in the area depend on for a living.

BRAZIL. “Without a structured system, a group of 4 thousand people sustains the recycling in the city.” ISWA. Emanuel Alencar, Ludmila Curi and Rogério Daflon. In Rio, the transition started less than one year ago, with the decision of shutting down all the dumping sites (lixões). The goal of the state secretary of Environment is to shut down all the open-air dumping sites until July, this year.

INDIA. “Wasteland Warriors.” EarthCare Optimized (May 2012) by by Akanksha Upadhyay. They rummage through the city waste, collecting, sorting, selling, recycling and sometimes even eating the leftover food they find in it. Vital actors in the informal economy, waste pickers provide widespread benefits to their communities, their municipalities and above all to the environment, but remain largely neglected.”

BRAZIL. “The Thrift of Sambinha: Catadores and Waste Mitigation.” FAVELissues Blog by Andrew Carman. Even with the spread of municipal recycling programs, solid waste in the US has increased from 3.66 in 1980 to 4.43 in 2010. Catadores are the tourniquet on the hemorrhage of capitalism’s waste.

BELGIUM. “EU is investing in toxic waste projects in developing world, GAIA claims.” The Guardian (16 May 2012) by Les Roopanarine. The EU’s clean development mechanism (CDM) is supporting wasteprojects in developing countries that threaten livelihoods and cause toxic emissions, according to a report by the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA).

 

Comunicado sobre la problematica de “la basura” (Cooperativa Reciclando Sueños)

May 09 2012   •   Press Releases    •  

Buenos Aires, Argentina – 8 maio 2012 -

Dadas las últimas noticias referidas a “la basura” (en realidad relacionadas al manejo y gestión de los residuos sólidos urbanos), consideramos que es necesario dar nuestra impresión sobre el problema.

Consideramos que una cuestión central del mismo es que los profesionales de “la basura”, los cartoneros, no hemos sido aún convocados para la discusión de las posibles soluciones a este problema, que además de ambiental/ecológico se ha vuelto de índole socioeconómica.

No nos olvidemos que el CEAMSE fue creado en el año 1978 por la dictadura genocida, estableciendo un monopolio que beneficia a 8-9 grupos entre los que se incluyen el grupo Macri, Roggio y Pez Carmona. Nuestra actividad fue entonces prohibida en el mismo decreto de creación del CEAMSE, por lo cual sufrimos maltratos y arrestos por parte de las autoridades policiales.

La problemática fue incrementándose en tanto que el CEAMSE gana en función de la cantidad de basura enterrada, haciendo que nosotros mismos fuéramos acusados de ladrones por quién hoy no quiere pagar el aumento por enterrar los residuos en otra jurisdicción.

La problemática de los residuos hace necesario tener en cuenta que actualmente el negocio de la basura es cobrar por su recolección y enterramiento.

Lo que exigimos es la adecuación a la ley estableciendo:

  • La reducción de la basura mediante la separación en origen y la recolección diferenciada
  • Que esto se lleve a cabo por emprendimientos de gestión social, realizando recolección puerta a puerta, la más exitosa y sustentable para el ambiente de las opciones posibles.
  • Exigimos ser reconocidos como servidores públicos y poder recibir de parte del Estado el pago por los servicios prestados, los cuales no solo reducen los residuos sino que están en concordancia con las leyes establecidas. Las empresas de recolección de estos grupos concentrados no pueden decir lo mismo.

Cooperativa Reciclando Sueños, La Matanza.
http://www.xn--reciclandosueos-brb.org.ar/

Reciclando Sueños
Somos una cooperativa de cartoneros que nos dedicamos a la recolección, reciclado y transformación de residuos. Venimos trabajando juntos desde el año 2003. En el año 2006 pusimos en marcha el programa “Reciclando Basura Recuperamos Trabajo” llevando adelante el servicio de recolección diferenciada en la localidad de Aldo Bonzi.

Leer el comunicado original 

Pension Parishad, Delhi: Informal workers demand pension rights

May 07 2012   •   Asia    •  

Thousands gathered in Delhi today, May 7, to kick off the first day of demands for pension rights for informal workers.

Photos Gallery First Global Strategic Workshop of Waste pickers #pune2012

May 07 2012   •   Events    •  

Photo Gallery: Alliance of Indian Wastepickers, National Meeting #pune2012

May 07 2012   •   Events    •  

Pune, India – The Global Alliance marches on Labor Day / La Alianza Global marcha en 1er de maio

May 06 2012   •   Asia    •  

SWaCH Cooperative has been working since a year with the Pune Municipal Corporation and civil society organizations in Pune, India, to create a ‘Zero Waste’ ward. This initiative includes reaching out to 100% of all citizens for doorstep collection and for processing the waste within the ward, thus minimising the need for any ‘waste’ to reach the landfill. Based on the success of this initiative the ruling party that has recently been elected to power after the municipal elections, plans to launch this initiative in 15 more wards. The formal inauguration of this program was held on Labor Day, followed by a march that included the presence of waste pickers from 26 countries. The inauguration and march concluded the Global Workshop of Waste Pickers, which was held in Pune, India from April 24-30. Waste pickers and other informal workers will be participating in pension events between May 7-11, starting in Delhi. See globalrec.org for more details.

Pension for the working poor: events kick off May 7th in Delhi

May 05 2012   •   Asia, Press Releases    •  

Pension for the aging working poor is not a freebie. It is not about welfare but a sign of gratitude towards those in their twilight years. Yes they were not treated fairly during their working years. They did not get regular work, were not entitled to minimum wages and got no employment benefits. Pension is a right that the aging working poor have earned by virtue of having given the best years of their lives to contribute to the economy. They have built houses and highways, cleaned streets, collected materials for recycling, cooked food and looked after households, rolled beedies, assembled electronic goods and even polished diamonds. They were able to feed and clothe themselves and their families because they worked. Society must compensate them in their twilight years.

Government employees enjoy pension benefits. Even elected representatives enjoy pension benefits. The most vulnerable sections of society, the working poor do not. Waste pickers, headloaders, domestic workers and many other unorganised workers assembled at a Pension Parishad in Pune on 25th February to demand the right to care and protection in old age, in the form of pension.

Almost every Indian bends down to seek the blessings of the elders at different points in their lives. Indians pride themselves on their respect for the elderly. It is time for that respect to be translated into something more tangible in the form of pension. The elderly need food, health care, clothes, medicines and the Government can help the aging pay for them through universal pensions.

The demand for universal pension was first raised in Pune at a Convention of Unorganised Workers in Pune. The demand resonated in several states among the working poor to coalesce into a 5 day dharna demanding universal pension. It is not as if the problem of pensions is only that of the poor. Thousands of government and private sector employees have grievances about their pensions or provident funds not being paid to them or being so delayed that it is almost worthless. The problem is therefore not only of the working poor but of the aging. The elderly are among the most vulnerable in society and deserve to live out their lives with dignity.

The dharna starts on 7th May 2012 and continues till 11th May 2012 at Jantar Mantar.

About 2000 working poor from 9 states will be present at the dharna.

The programme for the dharna is as follows:

7th – Public hearing on issues of the elderly.

8th – Public hearing on Accountability and Grievance Redress related to Pensions and entitlements for the elderly. The Grievance Redress Bill will also be discussed.

9th – Public hearing on issues of marginalised and vulnerable groups

10th – Public hearing on issues related to the National Food Security Bill and food security of the elderly

11th – Pension Parishad discussion on the response to the charter of demands. Planning the way forward.

On the campaign trail:

100 motor cyclists of the Hamal Panchayat will ride into Delhi tomorrow after campaigning en route during their journey to Pune. They will arrive by about 5 pm. The motor cyclists will campaign in Delhi over the next two days.

150 waste pickers from Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat Pune will reach Indore on the 6th where they will address a press conference and meet with local waste pickers. Waste pickers from Indore and Ujjain will join them and reach Delhi on Monday 7th May.

 

“Works not Waste — Visions for a Green Economy” (Huffington Post)

May 03 2012   •   In the News    •  

India – 2 May 2012 -

The Rio+20 meeting is just a few weeks away. Sitting here in India’s sixth largest city, Pune, there is evidence of deep transformation since the last United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio, in 1992. The last time around, in the Rio Declaration, people were placed at the center for sustainable development. And poverty was identified as an obstacle to sustainable development. These years later, one group of the poor — wastepickers — have organized as the Global Alliance of Waste Pickers. They are meeting at Pune for a workshop. Wastepickers are a widespread phenomenon in the developing world, and seen only occasionally elsewhere. They rummage through trash and pick out plastics, paper, cardboards and metals, selling these to waste dealers who finally sell it to factories that will recycle these materials. These wastepickers are demanding a place of honor within the green economy — a key theme is this year’s Rio+20 meet.

The green economy is a term people either love or hate. Its critics interpret it as a system that expands existing economic systems via businesses such as GM, or mass harvesting of natural resources at the cost of protecting people and the planet. Those invested in the idea see it as an economy that acknowledges the services and needs of the poor with benefits accrued directly to them. For them, the green economy also means of non-hazardous work, breaking out of poverty and enjoying one’s basic rights. This is what the wastepickers, gathered here in Pune, all seem to collectively want — to participate in the kind of green economy they’d vote for. Unfortunately, most of them remain untouched by this idea. It’s a tragic indicator of the state of the developing world’s cities that from Mali to Argentina, the world’s recyclers recount being excluded from city waste handling systems, and public humiliations, before some of them describe their relatively recent success. Cities, we realize, a whole generation after Rio, still remain severely unequal and cruel to the poor. Even towards wastepickers, their best recyclers, who save significant greenhouse gas emissions.

Still, wastepickers share their aspirations. Esther Kosi from Ghana, a landfill based wastepicker, she also sews theatre costumes when she is commissioned. From her work on Accra’s dumps, she has brought up four children. The oldest, at 26, is educated and currently between jobs. “We don’t have a relationship with people whose waste we recycle — we have to built it up,” she points out. Maria Christina from Argentina, representing a local co-op, El Ceibo, understands people differently. “We need to reclaim ourselves before we reclaim waste,” she announces. Her sentiments are widely applauded, because the wastepickers all call for being better organized.

There are some causes for celebrations. In metro Manila, the local municipality has helped the wastepickers to pick the recyclables they want and even convert plastics into high value pellets. In Pune, the SWACH co-operative picks up waste at the doorstep from over 45 percent of the city, creating green jobs. In Delhi, Safai Sena similarly picks waste from the New Delhi area but also collects toxic electronic waste, diverting it to clean recyclers.

This is what an important part of the green economy looks like then — propelled by small or medium organizations, operationalized under safe conditions by skilled wastepickers and addressing one of the world’s more pressing environmental challenges. Many of these ideas were nascent in 1992. But Rio+20 must take note and embrace this model of a green economy. Over 20 million people on the planet are asking for it. Read original article

The Global Workshop of Waste Pickers Concludes

May 01 2012   •   Press Releases    •  

In the final day of the First Global Workshop of Waste Pickers, representatives from 26 countries wrapped up their session. The workshop has been held in Pune at Yashada April 24-30.

The representatives discussed the threats that waste pickers across the globe are facing. They came to the conclusion that the main threats are corrupt governments that are privatizing public services.

Big multinational corporations are also often against the interest of waste pickers. Waste pickers perform a public service, collecting recyclable materials and protecting the environment.

One of the other threats that was identified by the global delegation of waste pickers was incineration – the burning of waste.

“Waste-to-energy is being sold to governments as an environmentally clean solution,” Neil Tangri, of the Global Alliance of Incinerator Alternatives, said. “But what’s going to burn is paper, cardboard and plastics. The very things that are recyclable.”

“Incineration burns the recyclable materials, generating toxic pollution behind,” said Alex Cardoso, a waste picker from Porto Alegre, Brazil. “That means more drilling for oil and other virgin materials.”

The global workshop began with waste pickers from around the world visiting the SWaCH Cooperative door-to-door collection system and the KKPKP union scrap yard.

Waste pickers learned about biogas technology and composting projects that they can take home to their countries. The waste pickers agreed to organize themselves locally and work towards forming national alliances.

May 1: Labour Day + Maharashtra

The global workshop is over but will be followed by an action tomorrow, May 1, which is celebrated around the world over as Labor Day and additionally as Maharashtra Day. KKPKP and SWACH invite our brothers and sisters from across the world to join us in 2 programs.

SWaCH has been working since a year with PMC and other Civil Society Organisations in Pune, to create a ‘Zero Waste’ ward. Based on the success of this initiative the ruling party that has recently been elected to power after the municipal elections plans to launch this initiative in 15 more wards. The formal inauguration of this program is also on 1st May at 9.30 am. Please do join us in expressing our unequivocal support for truly decentralized initiatives like this.

For more information, contact:

Laxmi Narayan, Alliance of Indian Waste Pickers

9422318891

Deia de Brito

Global Alliance of Waste Pickers, Communication

976540566

Dinner with the Pune Municipal Corporation: waste pickers receive awards for their public service

April 30 2012   •   Press Releases    •  

On the second day of the Global Workshop of Waste Pickers, held in Pune, India, the Pune Municipal Corporation invited the waste pickers from 26 countries and four continents to dinner. Municipal officials presented the waste pickers awards for the public service they provide and vowed to improve working conditions of waste pickers.

Pune 2012: The First Global Workshop of Waste Pickers – Day 2

April 29 2012   •   In the News    •  

Threats to waste pickers (workshop notes)

April 29 2012   •   Events    •  

Here a complete list of the threats that each wastepickers and/or organization has expressed. Extracted from the live notes http://bit.ly/globalrecday3

They are partially ordered, but more analysis is needed.

1) Corruption/Institutional problems:

  • Decision making is made secret and in a small/closed group (Serbia)
  • Exclusion from law, corruption (Ezquiel/Denies, Chile)
  • Distrust in authorities and their leaders (Serbia)
  • Political corruption (MNCR, Belo Horizonte, Brazil)
  • Coruption (MNCR, Brazil)
  • Coruption (MNCR, Brazil)
  • Coruption (MNCR, Brazil)
  • Failure to comply with the laws on policies we have managed to achieve (Implementation failure)
  • Government doesn’t do anything (Paraguay)
  • Government coruption
  • Lack of landfills (COGIAM, Mali)

2) Waste-to-energy

  • 3 W-t-E plants (AIKMM, Delhi)
  • CDM (Clean Development Mechanism)
  • Waste-to-energy plants: threat to livelihood (Safai Sena, Delhi)
  • Waste-to-energy (Suman More, KKPKP, Pune; India)
  • Waste-to-energy (Vikas, Nagar)

3) Private companies

  • The threat is the private companies that want the recyclable materials to make a profit out it, while we -the wastepickers- remain with their problems (Maria Ortiz, Santa Cruz, Bolivia)
  • Big private companies together with the municipality that will come out with proyectos encubiertos (like incinerators,…) that will make us disappear (Cristina, Agentina)
  • World Bank, Coca Cola, WtE pretending/saying/claming to be including wastepickers (Lucia, Ecuador)

4) Privatization

  • Contrancting waste to private companies (AIKMM, Delhi)
  • Middle men and private companies becoming owners of waste (Martha Elena, Rionegro Antioquia, Colombia)
  • Privatization (Shalini, SEWA)
  • Waste collection contractors (Suman More, KKPKP, Pune, India)
  • Municipalities are giving contracts to private contractors for collection of waste from door-to-door
  • Privatization (Simon, SAWPA)
  • Privatization in solid waste management (No wastepickers inclusion), outsourcing of waste (Jai Prakash Choudhary, Safai Sena)
  • Existence of multinational companies in waste system (El Cairo, Egypt, Michael H., Soy)
  • That the wastepickers will not be able to decide for their work future + privatization of their recycling work (Uruguay)
  • Private waste contractors exclude wastepickers (Eileen Belamide, Philippines)
  • Privatization (Aliou Fare, Book-Dion, Senegal)
  • Private companies pressure to manage the “clean system”: technologies, public policies, vertical integration
  • Lack of access to waste due to privatization (SEWA)
  • “100 days plan”: the way that multinational companies capture the waste management
  • Private companies
  • Privatization (COGIAM, Mali)
  • Pressure from private companies (Tecnologies, PP, Vertical integration (ANR, Colombia)
  • Privatization of collection services

5) Social security (Health, pensions,…)

  • Closure of transfer stations (COGIAM, Mali)
  • Unstable prices of recyclable materials (China)
  • No insurance, no economic support for old age (pension) (China)
  • We don’t get old age pension (Suman More, KKPKP, Pune, India)
  • We don’t get pensions
  • Safety, Health insurance, Income guarantee (India)
  • Unstable land use, volatility prices of the recyclable materials, no social ensurance and services

6) Access to waste

  • Recognition to WPs (China)
  • Forced eviction, Harrassment as criminal by community or police (Indonesia)
  • Except for those who run a recycling company, most waste pickers are not regarded as a carreer and can’t be protected as a regular labor. Now chinese government is trying to draw up into category of flexible employment (ICO, China)
  • There has been no industrial association for WPs in China. And WPs cannot voice their right and don’t know whom to turn to when they most difficulties and they fell helpless like edged people. Now chinese government & advocating harmonious society hoping WPs have their own NGOs.
  • Voice for WPs NGO (China)
  • No recognition
  • Exclusion policies (SEWA, India)
  • Government and municipal assemblies should recognize waste pickers
  • They have a right
  • Door-to-door collection
  • no access to waste if segregation at source
  • difficulties in safe and secure access to waste at privately operated transfer station (Philippines)
  • Access to waste is becoming a problem (Nalini, )
  • No access to waste (KKU, Kamlesh Das)
  • Of waste pickers not integrated in the system then no access to waste for them if there is segregation at source
  • Livelihood
  • Losing access to recyclable materials (Isabel Martinez, Colombia)
  • ack of technology to ensure processing of materials (machines!)
  • The dump sites should be sprayed gradually because flies have invaded the (Ghana)
  • We need the compost machines how to deal with organic waste (Ghana)
  • The union needs a reclycling unit so that they can work with themselves (Ghana)
  • Include wastepickers in MSWM
  • Inclusion of WPs (Brazil)
  • Inclusion of WPs (Brazil)
  • Inclusion of WPs (Brazil)
  • Inclusion of WPs (Brazil)

Other threads:

  • WPs are not organized
  • Awareness education to wastepickers
  • Lack of knowledge and education
  • children stay at village when parents go to cities for earning a living
  • On these conditions, it is difficult to provide our children with education and provide them with an option of alternative profession
  • Dependence on NGOs
  • Foreign or national consultants don’t know – or have no time to learn- local situation in relation to wastepickers

 

Press Release: A First Taste of Solidarity

April 29 2012   •   Press Releases    •  

Miroslav Mitrovic from Serbia with global waste pickers

Pune, India – April 28

Today was the second day of the First Global Workshop of Waste Pickers, hosted by the SWaCH cooperative and the KKPKP union on behalf of the Global Alliance of Waste Pickers. Waste picker organizations from Africa, Latin America and Asia came together with allies to discuss different models of inclusion in municipal solid waste management systems and the threats they are facing as waste pickers.

Miroslav Mitrovic, the only European waste picker at the workshop, was one of the presenters. After his presentation, with the help of a translator, he eagerly requested that the Latin American waste pickers give him t-shirts, flags, banners – any paraphernalia representing their hard-won rights as waste pickers.

When he returns to Kacak, Serbia, he’s set to appear on television to talk about the newly formed cooperative that he’s helped start. It’s the first waste pickers’ cooperative in Serbia. The municipal and national governments are supporting the process – providing equipment, space, and help with management. In Eastern Europe, most waste pickers are Roma and face discrimination.

So when Mitrovic requested t-shirts, it wasn’t just to take them back to Serbia as souvenirs. It was to show his community that waste pickers in other parts of the world are proud of what they do, and aren’t afraid to show it.

In Serbia, “there’s a fear of losing welfare if they start to work formally,” said Jelena Nesic, with the Democratic Transition Initiative, an NGO working with waste pickers to form the cooperative.  Coming to Pune, India, where waste pickers with SWaCH are receiving municipal support and improving their working conditions, has been an important experience for Mitrovic and other waste pickers gathered here for the global workshop.

“They exist as a social problem but not as a livelihood activity,” said Anne Scheinberg, a researcher with WASTE. “In a country that denies that you exist, you sometimes don’t have the idea that there’s solidarity elsewhere in the world.”

That solidarity was palpable today, as waste pickers from 26 countries across Latin America, Asia, and Africa shared the way they fit into the solid waste management systems of their towns and cities.

“Becoming organized is a difficult process. In every country in the world, waste pickers have been invisible,” said Nohra Padilla, a waste picker and organizer with the Waste Pickers’ Association of Bogotá (ARB), Colombia. “This situation only changes when we begin to organize.”

The global workshop continues until April 30 as discussions on strategic issues about the integration of waste pickers in solid waste management progresses. Waste pickers and organizers will be available for interviews.

Contact Laxmi Narayan, Alliance of Indian Waste Pickers

9422318891

Deia de Brito, Communications, the Global Alliance of Waste Pickers

976540566

Visit www.globalrec.org for more information

Selected photos from #pune2012

April 29 2012   •   Events    •  

We’ll be updating this section.

Slideshow – The National Convention of Waste Pickers: Framing Demands

April 28 2012   •   In the News    •  

In the final day of the National Convention of Waste Pickers, waste pickers from India and across Asia spoke of their successes and challenges. This was the second national convention organized by the Alliance of Waste Pickers in collaboration with the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporations. Waste pickers from nine countries in Africa and eight countries in Latin America showed their support.

Notes: Understanding Different Models

April 28 2012   •   Events    •  

Notes from session: A. Sharing sessions by region: Understanding Different Models (continued from April 27)

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Drawings: waste pickers’ mapping and discussing their own recycling models

April 28 2012   •   Events    •  

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Press release: Waste pickers from 30 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America gather for the First Global Workshop of Waste Pickers

April 27 2012   •   Press Releases    •  

Pune is at an historical moment. It is not only learning but it showcasing possibly the largest experience of integrating waste pickers in to solid waste management through formal institutional arrangements. Pune’s waste pickers have shown that direct user fee recovery and service provision through integrating informal workers is doable and sustainable.

But innovations are never perfect. They are improved over time by tweaking the glitches. How do we perceive the glass filled with water? Is it half full or half empty? The waste pickers gathering in Pune for the 1st Global Strategic Workshop of Waste Pickers are here from April 27th through 30th to answer such questions. The global strategic workshop of waste pickers organised at YASHADA is an opportunity to meet waste pickers from around the world. Come interact with them, speak with them through interpreters and learn about their lives.

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Slideshow – National Convention of Waste Pickers: Field Visits

April 27 2012   •   Press Releases    •  

On April 25th, waste pickers from Latin America and Africa made field visits during the National Convention of Waste Pickers. They visited residential buildings using SWaCH’s door to door collection as well as composting projects and biogas plants.

Press Release: Waste pickers frame common struggles and demands

April 27 2012   •   Asia, Press Releases    •  

photo of waste picker delegates at national convention

For immediate release

Pune – April 26, 2012

In the final day of the National Convention of Waste Pickers, waste pickers from India and across Asia spoke of their successes and challenges. This was the second national convention organized by the Alliance of Waste Pickers in collaboration with the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporations. It was held at the Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration in Pune.

The convention was preceded by the Consultation of Urban Local Bodies on Integration of Waste pickers in Solid Waste Management on 24th April. Municipal officials from 17 municipalities participated in that event.

The waste pickers’ convention started in the morning with a song by veteran labour leader of informal workers, Dr Baba Adhav. This was followed by a presentation by waste pickers on the situations they face in their cities.

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