Waste pickers keep our cities clean, yet they remain invisible
Waste pickers keep our cities clean, yet they remain invisible.
Across the world, nearly 20 million people earn their living by collecting, sorting and recycling discarded materials. They are the backbone of urban recycling systems, often handling 50–100% of waste in low-income cities at no cost to municipalities.
But despite their vital role in fighting climate change, cutting landfill use and driving the circular economy, waste pickers face unsafe working conditions, stigma, and exclusion from formal waste systems.
The new UN-Habitat report “Including Waste Pickers in Metropolitan Waste Management” calls for a shift:
Recognise waste pickers as essential workers.
Provide safe spaces, fair pay, and social protections.
Integrate them into citywide waste strategies.
In short: a cleaner, fairer future depends on including those who already do the heavy lifting.
👉 How can cities move from seeing waste pickers as “informal” to recognising them as indispensable partners in resilience and sustainability?
Source:
Temukan peta dengan kualitas terbaik untuk gambar peta indonesia lengkap dengan provinsi.
