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

Category: Threats



This Thursday: Waste Pickers at the Frontline of Climate Change

Thursday, Dec. 1, 10 a.m.

Howard College, Shepstone 4, University of KwaZulu-Natal Waste Pickers reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save raw materials through recycling. They are a real human force to mitigate climate change and offer a necessary alternative to polluting, waste-to-energy technologies. Representatives from the Global Alliance of Waste Pickers will talk about their realities and views on the climate and waste policy situation, including a critical perspective on the CDM and the Green Climate Fund.


Carta de Marlen Chacon, desde COP17 (Spanish and English)

Marlen Chacon, wastepicker from Costa Rica. Hoy al ser la una de tarde aqui en Durban, atuvimos en la reunion de la junta directiva del MDL, y varios de nosotros tuvimos intervención, desde ayer estuvimos trabajando mucho en como plantear nuestras preguntas ya que ellos argumentan cualquier cosa con tal de no dar una respuesta que los delate sobre lo que quieren seguir haciendo, para ellos solo sus proyectos tienen valides y…

Tshwane: power through networking

In the 1990s the Tshwane municipality in South Africa engaged in a number of failed projects with waste pickers. These included a project that hired waste pickers to make crafts out of recyclable material. It also included at a private company with interests in waste management helping waste pickers to set up cooperatives and run buy-back centres for the cooperatives. However the positive that came out of these failures was that waste pickers formed committees on dumps and this provided the base for independent organizing. But what lessons and openings for organisation emerged in this period?

Waste pickers! COP17 is important

Here we go again, the yearly United Nations (UN) climate summit is approaching in Durban at the end of the year, with its usual endless list of strange words that make us scratch our heads in confusion. Why do people make such important issues around climate change, waste and waste pickers so complicated when it comes to making agreements that respect grassroots communities and the environment? Did you know that the climate summit is in fact called COP? What does it mean and why is it important to us? Let’s try to get the basics right to make sure we don’t miss the chance to participate in this important opportunity for grassroots communities to shape the future of our planet.


Preparing for COP17 – Waste pickers get active

How do waste picking jobs link up with threatening climate change? Waste pickers from across South Africa will learn about, and discuss this issue in a three day workshop. Together with waste pickers from India, Latin America, Kenya and Senegal they will prepare for the Cop 17 … COP 17 begins on 28 November. While this conference is happening waste pickers will have their own meetings … December 3 is a global day of action. All members of civil society, including the trade unions and environmental organisations, will demonstrate the importance of protecting our planet against disaster. Waste pickers will come out in their numbers to state that they are mitigating the effects of climate change by recycling waste so governments should value them and give them good support and opportunities.

False solutions to climate change – CDM incineration and landfill gas systems

Incinerators take recyclable materials such as paper and plastic to burn them and produce electricity. Landfill gas systems bury vegetables and kitchen waste, mixed with other kinds of waste, to produce methane and then electricity as well. In this way, these technologies actively compete with the valuable contribution of waste pickers to prevent catastrophic climate change as well as with general recycling programmes. Waste pickers and other recyclers offer much greater greenhouse gas reductions, especially when combined with biological treatment methods.



Pagination