
Category: Inclusive models


The waste pickers of Ecuador unite for their national assembly

“We are the faces of recycling”: the 5th Chilean Waste Pickers’ Conference

Waste picker speaks at Conference at IIM Ahmedabad

Safai Sena holds its annual meeting

In Delhi, waste pickers in KKU union can now vote

Canadian waste pickers recycled 150,000 containers!
We thought of celebrating after recycling 120,000 containers but then we surpassed that last week! The success of the temporary recycling shed belonging to the Valoristes’ cooperative in Quebec confirms the need for permanent recycling sheds like the ones that exist across most of Canada.

German Ambassador takes up the Rice Bucket Challenge with Chintan

Waste pickers and volunteers divert 177 tons of festival offerings from rivers
The significance of immersing the idol symbolizes the Lord taking our sorrows along with Him and returning again next year to protect us. But between this symbolism and merriment lies the bleak reality of ecological degradation that comes with immersing idols and Nirmalaya in our water bodies.

Recyclers in Nicaragua: A Productive and Environmental Force
WIEGO, UCA and Red Nica are collaborating to create an alliance for a baseline study of the thousands of waste pickers/recyclers in Nicaragua, the majority of whom are not heard or considered and remain invisible.

Substitution of Animal Traction Vehicles in Bogota
In 2003, the national transit code sought to eradicate animal traction vehicles or animal pulled carts that would have affected hundreds of thousands in Colombia. They had to demand their rights.

There is a rose in Seemapuri
Seemapuri in north east Delhi is one of many hubs where waste pickers (kabadiwala) bring, sort, bale and ship waste resources.
Since more than one year now a start up of all women waste workers has been crafting one of a kind flowers and other gift items. The creative process is 100% reuse down to the packaging being used for export shipping!

Inclusive Recycling in Guatemala
As part of the Regional Initiative for Inclusive Recycling, the Inter-American Development Bank organized a workshop in horizontal training on organizing for waste pickers working at a sanitary landfill in Amatitlán, Guatemala.

In São Paulo, women waste pickers host a conference to strengthen leadership
About 225 women waste pickers connected to the Brazilian Waste Pickers’ Movement (MNCR) participated in August in the first statewide conference for women waste pickers.

South African waste pickers registering as tire collectors
The South African Waste Pickers’ Association (SAWPA) are in the process of registering with REDISA as tyre collectors and/or transporters. Waste pickers are already in the business of recycling and this plan is just adding one more waste stream to collect.

840 waste pickers contracted to recycle during the World Cup
The Movement of Brazilian Waste Pickers (MNCR) showed once more the result of a national effort in the struggle for recognition with the official partipation of waste pickers in recycling service during the World Cup. Close to 840 waste pickers organized in cooperatives and networks were part of the recycling effort across 12 World Cup stadiums, as well as at official World Cup events.

SWaCH: Five Years and Counting
Through this latest 12-page issue of the newsletter, SWaCH shares the journey it has been on since it was founded five years ago – the excitement, the anxieties, successes and new ideas that have emerged for making Pune a better city for all in the years to come.

The national waste pickers’ network of Ecuador signs an agreement with the government
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

WIEGO and Waste Pickers Speak at Joburg Waste Summit
On May 15 and 16, 2013 over 400 people attended the Joburg Waste Summit, hosted by the Johannesburg Council and its waste management company Pikitup. The Council and Pikitup urgently need to find ways to minimize waste going to landfill, and the Summit was called to explore how to do this. WIEGO and SAWPA argued that landfill reclaimers need to be included in all discussions and new recycling initiatives.

Learning from the catadores: the South African government visits the waste pickers of Brazil
In April, officials from the South African Department of the Environment were in Brazil and Colombia to learn about inclusive solid waste management. They visited waste pickers’ movements and cooperatives and spoke with NGOs and city officials. “We are particularly encouraged by the participatory aspects. This is something that resonates with South Africans,” Cobbinah said.