Why do we celebrate March 1st with the ReciMañana Fun?
On March 1st, Waste Picker's Day is commemorated due to a tragic event that occurred in 1992 in Colombia. At the Free University of Barranquilla, workers from the Faculty of Medicine tricked waste pickers into entering the building, where they were killed and sold for scientific research, anatomy classes and organ trafficking. Therefore, the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Waste Pickers (LACRE Network) He has stated the March 1st as World Recyclers Day to honor the memory of this massacre and to draw attention to the adverse working conditions faced by waste pickers around the world.
Grassroots recyclers are people who do very hard work under precarious and unsafe conditions. They travel tens of kilometers in a day to recover recyclable material between the garbage covers where you can find literally everything. They do not have social security or benefits, nor are they recognized for the provision of their services, despite the fact that it is a service like the one we pay for garbage to be collected at the door of our houses in the municipal service (in most cities).
Thus, spaces dedicated to the care of your health and well-being generally take a back seat because the time spent caring means less time working and therefore, less income. Let's remember that basic recyclers receive economic income only from the sale of the material, so the more material they recover, the more income for their homes.
At ReciVeci we have worked hand in hand with hundreds of basic recyclers as strategic partners in the implementation of our projects. Our purpose is to make visible the work of basic waste pickers as service providers. April 1, 2023, in connection with World Recycler's Day (which was March 1st) we commemorate this important date precisely with a morning designed and dedicated to the well-being of more than 100 basic waste pickers and their families: the ReciMañana Fun. It was a day full of activities such as: dental care by students and teachers from the International University of Ecuador, hairdressing and beauty with the Fashion International Academy; visual health by Optics Brazil; donation of clothes from Usa Reusa; magic and jumping show for children; dance therapy session; soccer championship; information stands and prizes and incentives from sponsors.
This day was made possible thanks to the sustained work of several private sector actors who believe it is essential to recognize the work that basic waste pickers do on a daily basis. In a special way, the Fun Reception was made possible thanks to the sponsorship of O-I Cridesa, Coca Cola del Ecuador and McDonald's (Golden Arches). In addition, there were incentives and prizes from strategic partners such as Zurich Seguros, Yanbal and San Felipe. Finally, the support of the National Network of Recyclers of Ecuador (RENAREC) in supporting organizational processes in Ecuador is essential and they were an active part of the event.
This day was made possible thanks to the sustained work of several private sector actors who believe it is essential to recognize the work that basic waste pickers do on a daily basis. In a special way, the Fun Reception was made possible thanks to the sponsorship of O-I Cridesa, Coca Cola del Ecuador and McDonald's (Golden Arches). In addition, there were incentives and prizes from strategic partners such as Zurich Seguros, Yanbal and San Felipe. Finally, the support of the National Network of Recyclers of Ecuador (RENAREC) in supporting organizational processes in Ecuador is essential and they were an active part of the event.
