UNEA-7 STATEMENT
IAWP In nearly every country on earth, waste pickers are active in the recovery of materials for reuse and recycling, with great benefit to human and environmental health. Gl...
INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCE OF
WASTE PICKERS
WASTE PICKERS
The International Alliance of Waste Pickers is a union of waste picker organizations representing more than 460,000 workers across 34 countries
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A Breakthrough for Informal Economy Workers at COP 30
Victories in the Policy Sphere The Informal Economy Workers Movement scored a significant victory at the recently held United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC...
IAWP Statement on the Climate Finance Discussions in COP 30
Waste pickers are already delivering measurable climate benefits. We reduce methane by diverting organics from landfills, cut COâ‚‚ emissions by recovering plastics and recyclables...
Statement of the International Alliance of Waste Pickers for Climate Change COP30
Waste pickers: essential climate workers for a just and zero-waste transition Across the world, millions of waste pickers—mostly workers in the informal economy—collect, sort, ...
Press conference | Compost for the win: How COP30 can deliver methane cuts and good jobs
Date & Time: November 11, 5:00–5:30 PM BRT Location: Press Conference 2, Area D, Hangar Convention and Fair Centre of the Amazon, Belém Webcast: https://unfccc.int/cop30/...
Land, Housing, Work — and Recognition: Waste Pickers Join Global Movements in the Vatican
International Alliance of Waste Pickers statement – October 24, 2025 At the Fifth World Meeting of Popular Movements, held at the Vatican from October 21–24, the voice of waste...
Waste Pickers’ Voices at the UN Plastics Treaty: Soledad Mella Calls for Binding Just Transition
Geneva, August 4, 2025 — At the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC 5.2) on the Global Plastics Treaty, Soledad Mella, delegate of the International...
Waste Pickers Express Deep Disappointment Over Lack of Progress at INC5.2 Plastics Treaty Negotiations
Press Release The International Alliance of Waste Pickers expresses deep disappointment at the continued lack of agreement at INC5.2 of the Plastics Treaty negotiations. The failur...
Press Release: Indigenous Peoples Caucus, Waste Pickers, and Unionized Workers Demand a Binding Plastics Treaty That Centers Justice, Rights, and Real Solutions
Geneva, 7 August 2025 — As negotiations advance at INC-5.2 for a Global Plastics Treaty, frontline groups representing Indigenous Peoples, waste pickers, and unionized workers ac...
Waste Pickers at the Table: IAWP Delegates Head to INC-5.2 in Geneva
As negotiations for the Global Plastics Treaty begin at INC-5.2 in Geneva, the International Alliance of Waste Pickers (IAWP) proudly presents the delegates—waste picker leadersâ...
#ILC2025 CONCLUSIONS: Convention on Biological Hazards in the Working Environment
The third panel presented the adoption of the first global legal instrument focused on biological hazards at work. While more technical in scope, IAWP emphasized the importance of ...
#ILC2025 CONCLUSIONS: Regulating the Platform Economy
The second panel focused on a groundbreaking new Convention to regulate digital labor platforms. The ILO’s proposed legal framework introduces binding standards to protect platfo...
#ILC2025 CONCLUSIONS: Addressing Informality and Promoting the Transition to Formality
The first panel emphasized the global scale and urgency of tackling informality, which affects nearly 60% of workers and 80% of enterprises worldwide. Despite the adoption of Recom...
Report to Executive Council: Our Work from May 1 to October 31, 2024
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The plastics treaty finance mechanism
Lessons from other Multilateral Environmental Agreements regarding access for waste pickers and other grassroots groups