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

Stats « Waste pickers Around the World (WAW)

  • WAW in numbers
  • 427 Number of organizations in the data base
  • 63 Number of organizations that are Waste Picker Organizations (Latin America)
  • 115,541 Waste pickers in waste picker organizations

Organizational Reach number of organizations (%)

Local (52.4%)

33 (52.4%)

National (27%)

17 (27%)

Regional (19%)

12 (19%)

International (1.6%)

1

(Total organizations formed by waste pickers: 63)

52.4%
27%
19%
1.6%

Type of organization number of organizations (%)

Cooperative (52.4%)

33 (52.4%)

Association (28.6%)

18 (28.6%)

Federation of cooperatives (22.2%)

14 (22.2%)

Network of cooperatives (7.9%)

5 (7.9%)

Movement (6.3%)

4 (6.3%)

Trade union (4.8%)

3

Network

2

Federation

1

(Total organizations formed by waste pickers: 63)

33 (52.4%)
18 (28.6%)
14 (22.2%)
5 (7.9%)
4 (6.3%)
3 (4.8%)

Country number of organizations (%)

Brazil: 27 (42.9%)

Colombia: 13 (20.6%)

Argentina: 3

Peru: 3

Venezuela: 2

Chile: 2

Nicaragua: 2

Panama: 2

Honduras: 2

Dominican Republic: 1

Costa Rica: 1

Paraguay: 1

Bolivia: 1

Ecuador: 1

Mexico: 1

Uruguay: 1

Type of members number of organizations (%)

Members are waste pickers 49 (77.8%)

Members are waste picker organizations 22 (34.9%)

Occupation of members number of organizations (%)

Waste pickers 63 (100%)

Year Formed number of organizations

Not known

1975

1989

1990

1999

2001

2005

2007

2008

2009

2010

44
1
1
1
1
2
3
1
4
1
4

Year Registered number of organizations

Not known

1991

2003

2005

2007

2009

2010

2011

56
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

Materials collected number of organizations

Activities number of organizations

Community sale of materials

Community storage of materials

Special collections from large generators of waste

New items made from collected materials

Selling materials

Collection of recyclables

Sorting waste

Recycling

Waste collection

Waste sorting

Organizing collective events

Training and capacity building

Collecting materials

11
10
7
4
4
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1

Workplace of Members number of organizations

Street

Door to door

Dumpsite

Landfill

Sorting center

Sanitary landfill

Collection from companies

Recycling center

Home-based

53
11
9
9
4
3
3
3
1

What kind of relationship exists with the municipality? number of organizations

None

Payment for materials collected

Providers of infrastructure

Integrated into formal systems of source segregation

2
1
1
1

Languages number of organizations

Spanish

Portuguese

37
21