GLOBAL ALLIANCE OF WASTE PICKERS
GLOBAL ALLIANCE OF
WASTE PICKERS
The Global Alliance of Waste Pickers is a networking process supported by WIEGO, among thousands of waste picker organizations with groups in more than 28 countries covering mainly Latin America, Asia and Africa.
Supported by Logo WIEGO

Category: Threats

Civil society groups say the Montevideo waste law disregards waste pickers

CPC | Region | Oct 01, 2013

The Montevideo “Waste Law”, initiated by the municipality in 2004 requires companies that produce waste to develop a waste management plan. The city, now focusing on the recycling aspects of this law, wants the waste pickers to formalize into businesses. The law requires that the organizations that win the public bid contract waste pickers and manage their operations, controlling their work hours and and the neighborhoods in which they collect.

Denunciations
"Porto Alegre quer o fim da profissão de catadores"

MNCR: The Porto Alegre (Brazil) government doesn’t like waste pickers

MNCR (transl. by GlobalRec) | Region | Sep 30, 2013

The National Movement of Brazilian Waste Pickers – MNCR/RS, strongly denounces statements made by Fernando Mello, the coordinator of the program that will ban the use of horse-drawn carts by the beginning of 2015. “We want to end informal recycling, as well as other informal livelihoods, that many times operate in inhuman conditions, so that they can work formally and in more lucrative and dignified jobs.”

Denunciations
Screen shot from the documentary about Gericinó dump in Rio called "Catador".

“As of today, the waste pickers of Rio de Janeiro will go hungry”

Deia de Brito | Region | Sep 09, 2013

In the first week of September, 246 waste pickers of the Gericinó dumpsite in Bangú, a peripheral neighborhood in the Rio de Janeiro municipality, were facing the possibility of being suddenly out of work. The workers found out that the city, which has been in the process of closing the dumpsite for many months, was going to hand management over to a private company within two weeks time and that the dumpsite would be off limits.

Landfills Threats

Waste pickers unite for rights, bewail government corruption

EcoWaste Coalition | Region | Sep 03, 2013

In the face of the pork barrel scam that has recently shaken the country, Luzon-based waste pickers unite today to bewail corruption as a dagger driven right into their hearts, trampling on their rights for social recognition and legal protection as unsung heroes of the environment.

Denunciations

Red Lacre representatives show solidarity with Chilean landfill workers

Red Lacre | Region | Aug 31, 2013

On August 31, as part of the Red Lacre meeting held in Chile, 15 delegates visited waste pickers in the Los Molles landfill in the city of Valparaíso, only a few days before its closure and the opening of a new one. The purpose of the visit was to show support and give motivation for local organizing and reintegration at the new landfill. Los Molles has been open for more than 30 years.

Landfills
Safai Sena protesting the exploitation and extortion of waste pickers by private contractors. (Photo: Safai Sena)

Safai Sena waste pickers protest exploitation by private contractors

Safai Sena | Region | Aug 29, 2013

On August 16, 2013, over 250 waste recyclers of Safai Sena held a protest in front of Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam office. Many of them marched over 12 kilometers despite heavy rains that day. The protest was organized to raise a collective voice against the illegal collection of money by private contractors and exploitation of waste recyclers in Kavi Nagar and Mohan Nagar zones.

Privatization Threats

SAFAI SENA: If they pick waste, they must be thieves — the daily struggles of a waste picker in Delhi

Safai Sena | Region | Aug 09, 2013

Manwara, a waste picker, has been in Delhi since her childhood. She chose this work to add to her husband’s income who is also a waste picker. Recently, Manwara’s dream turned ugly when her innocent children were blamed for a theft that happened in the nearby area. She was unaware that her being waste picker would make her so vulnerable to being accused, harassed, and suffers violence openly.

Denunciations Press Releases
Bags full of used sanitary napkins addressed to companies that manufacture the product. Photo credit: SWaCH.

SWaCH: Letter to sanitary napkin manufacturers

SWaCH | Region | Aug 05, 2013

Currently wastepickers have to deal with this waste as part of household waste that they collect and also when they are picking from containers, dumps and landfills. In the recent years the amounts of this waste is also rising rapidly. As you can imagine handling this waste with their bare hands is particularly degrading and can impact the health of women who can have a compromised immune system from malnutrition and hardships.

Denunciations

Safai Sena fights for justice for a waste picker and child beaten and tortured by police

Jai Prakash Chaudhary, Safai Sena | Region | Aug 01, 2013

On July 26, Safai Sena sent letters to New Delhi’s Minister of Health and Family Welfare in the Women and Child Department and the Delhi Commission for Women detailing what happened to the Safai Sena waste picker and her son on July 19 and calling for a number of actions and reforms. (the letters were written by Jai Prakash Choudhary, Safai Sena secretary)

Denunciations

MNCR: Petition In support of a bill against incineration in the state of Minas Gerais (Brazil)

MNCR | Region | Jul 13, 2013

This petition — a joint effort of the MNCR (National waste pickers’ movement of Brazil) along with other social movements and groups — supports a bill that would stop to incineration of solid waste in the state Minas Gerais, Brazil. If this bill were approved it would support recycling collection based on solidarity — a system developed and pioneered by the waste pickers.

Denunciations

REDNICA: In Defense of Our Livelihood! Waste pickers fighting eviction from Managua landfill

REDNICA | Region | Jul 05, 2013

Compañeros/as of the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Waste Pickers (Red Lacre), in this very moment we are living through one of the biggest violations of our right to work as waste pickers, as the municipal landfill company Chureca de Managua has displaced us from our workplace which for decades provided us with solid waste, our source of livelihood.

Landfills
A press conference in March 2013 to address the issue of proper disposal of sanitary napkins. Photo credit: SWaCH.

SWaCH’s “Send it Back” Campaign Fights for Proper Disposal of Used Sanitary Napkins to Protect Waste Pickers’ Health

| Region | Apr 25, 2013

SWaCH waste pickers’ cooperative began bringing attention to a little known but very important issue more than two years ago: the proper disposal of used sanitary napkins. After sending numerous requests to manufacturers of sanitary napkins and diapers and receiving no response, SWaCH came up with a last resort. The cooperative collected used sanitary napkins and sent them back in boxes to the companies’ corporate offices as a gift on International Women’s Day to make them experience firsthand what waste pickers undergo while handling such waste.

Demands Denunciations Organizing
Waste pickers protest at a meeting about São Bernardo, São Paulo's installation of an incinerator. Credit: MNCR.

The fight against incineration continues in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo

| Region | Apr 15, 2013

In Brazil, the fight against incineration continues. In São Bernardo do Campo, waste pickers attended public debate about waste to energy between the municipal government and the Anti-Incineration Coalition held at a Methodist church in the city. São Bernardo plans to install an incinerator that will burn waste in surrounding cities for a period of at least 30 years.

Incineration
nigeria waste pickers' meeting

Nigerian waste pickers are organizing!

| Region | Feb 18, 2013

The Second Organizing Meetings with Waste Pickers was held in seven target cities in Nigeria. The purpose of the meetings is to support waste pickers’ organizing so they can better represent and protect themselves and have a platform to relate with members of the public, the government, waste dealers and other end users in a more organized way.

Privatization
Pagination