INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCE OF WASTE PICKERS

The International Alliance of Waste Pickers is a union of waste picker organizations representing more than 460,000 workers across 34 countries
Supported by Logo WIEGO

Posted by
Written by Ministerio del Ambiente (Ecuador)

Region

Country Ecuador

March 01, 2014


Foto: Ministerio del Medio Ambiente

Foto: Ministerio del Medio Ambiente

Organized waste pickers are the subject of an agreement in Ecuador between the Ministry of Economic and Social Inclusion, the Ministry of the Environment, the Institute of Popular Economy and the National Network of Waste Pickers of Ecuador (Renarec), with the support of the Avina Foundation. The agreement unites programs and resources towards the inclusion of more than 20,000 waste pickers and their families. The agreement promotes the forming of associations and is the beginning of a process of developing public policies that will integrate waste pickers and promote social and economic equality.  As part of the agreement, the institutions promised to work towards the formal recognition of informal recycling as a profession, and their access to social security benefits. In addition, the Ministry of Social and Economic Inclusion has promised to connect these families to a network of social services. Access the original article in Spanish