Towards a national waste pickers’ movement in the Dominican Republic

On October 26th, organized waste pickers of the Dominican Republic launched their National Movement. Its objective is to demand public policies that are socially inclusive for the thousands of recicladores that work the landfills and streets of the Dominican Republic. The movement was launched at the First National Conference of Waste Pickers in the Dominican Republic, held in Santiago de los Caballeros from October 24-26. Waste pickers from the ten municipalities participated. Also present at the conference were delegates from associations of waste pickers in Chile and Colombia. One of the primary tasks of the national movement is to bring the country’s national waste management law, which has been inaccessible to the public, to the public discussion and to make sure waste pickers’ voices are included. In the Dominican Republic, there are 348 open air dumps. About 5,000 waste pickers work in these dumps.