International Waste Pickers Day 2023

Dandora Declaration on International Waste Picker day 2023

Declaration read by the Kenyan National Waste Pickers Association (KENAWPWA) on March 1st, 2013, after the march.

We the waste-pickers and members of Kenya National Waste-pickers Welfare Association, representing more than 46000 waste-pickers, along with waste-picker leaders of the International Alliance of Waste-pickers from the five continents (Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and Latin America) commemorate International Waste-pickers Day by marching in the city of Nairobi. Through our march, we remember waste-pickers who lost their lives on this day in the Universidad Libre De Barranquilla Colombia in 1992. The killed waste-pickers were invited to the university under the pretext of receiving recyclable materials. Once inside the campus, they were beaten and shot to death, and their bodies were to be used for research and organ trafficking. The tragedy in Colombia is a sad reminder of the dehumanisation of waste-pickers around the world. We mourn those waste-pickers, who were killed in Colombia and in other parts of the world under similar situations. International Waste-pickers Day is also the day to remember our waste-picker colleagues, and friends whom we have lost to sickness, violence, dispossession by an economic system, eviction drives, fires in the settlements and dumpsites, environmental disasters and extreme weather events. We march on this day to remember them!

Further, through our march, we highlight that International Waste-pickers Day is a day to memorialise the struggles of waste-pickers for recognition, and dignity across the planet. It is the day to mark the achievements of waste-pickers associations, organizations and unions and the International Alliance of Waste-pickers. It is the day to mention that waste-pickers are being increasingly recognised in many countries and acknowledged for their work in making the planet green and healthy. A reference to waste-pickers’ work was made in United Nations Environment Assembly 5.2 resolution adopted by the international community in March 2022 in Nairobi. Today, we note the achievements of waste-pickers and waste-pickers organisations and associations.

Waste-pickers in Kenya and around the world are discriminated against and face stigma because of our occupation of recovering recyclable and reusable materials from waste. Through our work in recovering recyclable and reusable materials, we, waste-pickers reduce plastic pollution and carbon emissions. We waste-pickers belong to poor and marginalized groups, working classes, oppressed castes, ethnic, religious, and racial minorities, indigenous peoples, climate and war refugees, and survivors of violence and substance abuse. Additionally, many waste-pickers are aged and a lot of us suffer from various health-related ailments. We face other threats which contribute to our loss of livelihoods such as increasing privatization of waste management, and closure of our places of work- dumpsites. Even then, we are not disheartened.  We create work for ourselves by engaging in waste-picking and recycling and earning a decent and dignified livelihood. Our work in recycling contributes to reducing plastic pollution, lowering carbon emissions, and strengthening the circular economy.

On this International Waste-pickers Day and through our march we demand the following from the national and county governments in Kenya and governments around the world:

• Recognise the occupation of waste-pickers and recognise waste-pickers’ right to access waste.
• Waste-pickers should be paid fair and better prices for recovering and reclaiming recyclable and reusable materials.
• Affordable, comfortable and quality housing for all waste-pickers and their families.
• Government should give waste management tenders to waste-pickers, run cooperatives and organizations.
• Health and life insurance for all waste-pickers and their families.
• The dumpsites should not be closed before providing sustainable and regularised livelihood opportunities to waste-pickers.

Movimiento Nacional de Recicladores de la República D0minicana

Reciclaje sin los recicladores es basura. En defensa del trabajo de los recicladores.

El Movimiento Nacional de Recicladores de la República ODminicana, en representación de los hombres y mujeres, que trabajan en la recolección y acopio de materiales reciclables, en este día internacional, solicita las autoridades municipales, representada por la Liga Municipal Dominicana y las federaciones FEDOMU y FEDODIM, así como al Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, rectores del sistema de gestión de residuos sólidos, que presten atención a la precria situación en que se encuentran los recicladores. Lee comunicado completo.