The Third Zero Waste Meeting Ecuador 2019 was Held in Quito

The Third Zero Waste Meeting Ecuador 2019 was held at Simon Bolivar Andean University, in Quito, Ecuador, on September 4 and 5.
Among the meeting’s participants were scholars, local and national authorities, non-governmental organizations and waste pickers’ associations, all represented at the national level by the National Network of Waste Pickers of Ecuador (RENAREC) and by Nohra Padilla, who presides over National Association of Waste Pickers of Colombia (ANR) and is a member of the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Waste Pickers (REDLACRE).

In addition, representatives from the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) and WIEGO joined the meeting.

During the event, the book Reciclaje sin recicladoras es basura (Recycling Without Female Waste Pickers is Garbage) was brought out. From an ethnographic and ecofeminist perspective, it explores the lives of over 30 female waste pickers from Colombia and Ecuador.

WIEGO and the ANR also organized a one-day workshop that brought together over 40 leaders from RENAREC. They assessed the threats and opportunities waste pickers had in Latin America, while addressing gender-related issues and challenges faced by the waste pickers of their organizations. They also went through the lessons learned from the Colombian case, which was led by the ANR and presented by their leader, Nohra Padilla.