ReciVeci, from Ecuador, and Pimp My Carroça, from Brazil, publish this manifesto with key points in support of waste pickers in Latin America and the Caribbean.
SPANISH:
Around the world, but especially in the countries of the global south, millions of people work informally doing the most important work of our time: recycling waste generated by industrial and consumer society. With regard to the International Workers' Day (May 01), from ReciVeci, ReciApp, and Pimp My Carroça and Cataki, we unite our voices to reinforce the role of these people in the fight for a fairer and more sustainable world.
Whether in Ecuador or Brazil, waste pickers have been providing a fundamental environmental service for the planet for centuries, but they are invisible and underpaid, in addition to suffering various types of violence, such as the one that gave rise to the International Day of Waste Pickers in 1992, when 10 waste pickers were deceived by the staff of the Free University of Barranquilla and then murdered to later sell their bodies as experimental material. *
Based on meetings that Pimp My Carroça promotes through its Ambassador Program, of which ReciVeci is part through its founder Lorena Gallardo, both organizations exchanged knowledge about their work with waste pickers in their territories and came up with some established consensus to fight for visibility and fair remuneration for this professional category, the most important in the fight for Climate Justice.
“Through ambassadors, we were able to reach more territories and strengthen the various struggles for better living and working conditions for waste pickers. In a global climate emergency scenario, it is essential that we are able to establish links of solidarity and knowledge exchange with socio-environmental initiatives in other countries,” explains Amanda Barbalho, a specialist in ambassadors and volunteering at Pimp My Carroça.
To reinforce support for the category, which meets in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to elect international representatives of waste pickers, Pimp My Carroça, Cataki, ReciVeci and ReciApp publish this manifesto so that governments, companies and civil society can play their role in strengthening the struggle of recycling workers.
Manifesto of Solidarity with Waste Pickers in Latin America and the Caribbean
From Ecuador and Brazil, calling on the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean, we share some principles, values and desires, because we believe in the collective force to amplify voices to improve living and working conditions for all people who work in recycling. Let's build a culture of inclusive recycling!
Regardless of the territory in which you are located, echo any of these 10 fundamental points to demand more and better conditions for those who live from recycling:
- Actively search for waste pickers in our territories to strengthen your community, unity is strength!
- Respect their profession and provide resources to improve their living and working conditions (courses, training, etc.).
- Economically recognize waste pickers for their collection service provided.
- Hire waste pickers to carry out environmental education in schools, corporate events, communities
- Ensure access to basic health, work, social security, education and housing rights for them and their families.
- Ensure access to retirement for older waste pickers.
- Do not support incineration or forms of waste management that exclude basic recyclers, while they pollute the planet more.
- Provide recyclers with decent collection vehicles or carts for transporting recyclable materials.
- Invite companies to promote internal recycling systems that formally include the work of recyclers (inclusive recycling)
- Invite citizens to deliver recyclable materials directly to recyclers, separated, clean and dry.
Ecuador context:
In Ecuador, approximately 5 million tons of waste are generated per year, of which only 5% is recycled. Of that percentage, 50% is recovered at the hands of basic recyclers, who live by recovering and selling this material. In the country there are around 20,000 people who work as basic waste pickers and recyclers, 70% of whom are women, with more than 50% women, and in Quito, 70%.
ReciVeci was born in 2015 as a citizen initiative that sought to change the landscape of basic recyclers and that of waste management. Now ReciVeci is a startup or social enterprise that promotes the separation, recycling and returnability of solid waste in homes and businesses in Ecuador through social and technological and social innovation with the ReciApp tool, the inclusive mobile application for recycling.
ReciApp: the mobile application for inclusive recycling in Ecuador
It is the first technological and social tool for inclusive recycling in Ecuador that connects citizens with grassroots waste pickers. Through this application, we connect citizens, public and private sectors with basic recyclers to recover recyclable-returnable material and deliver it directly and safely to their hands, dignifying their work while citizens obtain points and prizes for recycling.
The app currently has more than 1,800 registered recyclers, and nearly 2,000 active monthly users. The app also has an environmental calculator through which users can know how they have reduced their environmental footprint with the recyclable material delivered to basic recyclers through ReciApp. Download the ReciApp for Android and iOS.
Context of Brazil
In Brazil, the National Movement of Waste Pickers and Collectors of Recyclable Materials (MNCR) made a final estimate that there would be at least 800,000 of these professionals in the country. Considering their families, there are certainly more than 1 million people who make a living from recycling in the country.
80 million tons of waste are generated annually in the country: 28 million tons are recyclable, but less than 4% of this portion is recycled. It is thanks to the work of poorly paid and invisible recyclers that 90% of this waste reaches the recycling industry.
Whether in cooperatives and associations, or in the streets and landfills (where most waste pickers are located in Brazil), these professionals fundamental to the Circular Economy and sustainable development are not recognized or fairly remunerated. This is the mission of Pimp My Carroça and Cataki.
Cataki: the mobile application for inclusive recycling in Brazil
Cataki emerges as a social technology to promote connections between waste pickers and other agents in the recycling chain such as civil society, commerce and industry. On our platform, available on Android and iOS, there are more than 50,000 registrations in almost 2,000 municipalities in the country.
Through the application's Impact Calculator, developed by the GEA Institute for educational purposes, it is estimated that the connections powered by the platform have already helped to save 8,000 trees, 20 million liters of water, 350,000 liters of gasoline and prevent the emission of almost 2 tons of greenhouse gases. Download the Cataki App for Android and iOS.
PORTUGUESE:
Manifesto of Solidarity with Women and Collectors from Latin America and the Caribbean
Civil society organizations that work with waste pickers, ReciVeci, from Ecuador, and Pimp My Carroça, from Brazil, publish a manifesto in support of recycling workers in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Around the world, but especially in the countries of the global South, millions of people work informally, carrying out the most important work of our era: recycling waste generated by industrial and consumer society. On International Labor Day (May 1st), ReciveCI, ReciApp, Pimp My Wagon And Cataki we unite our voices to reinforce the importance of waste pickers, workers and workers who build a fairer and more sustainable world on a daily basis.
Whether in Ecuador or Brazil, waste pickers have been providing a fundamental environmental service to the planet for centuries, but they are invisible and underpaid, in addition to suffering various types of violence, such as the one that gave rise to the International Day of Waste Collectors in 1992, when 10 waste pickers were deceived by the team of the Free University of Barranquilla and murdered to have their bodies sold as experimental material.
Based on the meetings that Pimp My Carroça promotes through its Ambassador Program, of which ReciVeci is part through its founder Lorena Gallardo, both organizations exchanged knowledge about their work with waste pickers and waste pickers in their territories and came out with some established consensus for the struggle for visibility and fair compensation for this professional category - the most important in the fight for Climate Justice.
“Through ambassadors, we were able to reach more territories and strengthen the various struggles for better working and living conditions for waste pickers and waste pickers. In a global climate emergency scenario, it is essential to be able to establish ties of solidarity and knowledge sharing with social and environmental initiatives from other countries,” explains Amanda Barbalho, a specialist in ambassadors and volunteering at Pimp My Carroça
To reinforce support for the category, which meets on May 1 and 5 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to elect international representatives of waste pickers and waste pickers, Pimp My Carroça, Cataki, ReciVeci and ReciApp publish this manifesto so that governments, companies and civil society can fulfill their role in strengthening the struggle of recycling workers.
Manifesto of Solidarity with Women and Collectors from Latin America and the Caribbean
From Ecuador and Brazil, appealing to the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean, we share some principles, values, and desires, because we believe in the collective force to amplify voices to improve the living and working conditions of all people who work in recycling. Let's build a popular and inclusive recycling culture!
Regardless of the territory where you are, repeat any of these 10 fundamental points to demand more and better conditions for those who make a living from recycling:
- Actively search for waste pickers in our territories to strengthen your community, unity is strength!
- Respect your profession and provide resources to improve your living and working conditions (courses, training, etc.).
- Financially recognize recyclers for the collection service provided.
- Hire waste pickers to carry out environmental education at schools, corporate events, communities
- Ensure access to basic health, work, social security, education, and housing rights for them and their families.
- Guarantee access to retirees for elderly waste pickers.
- Don't support incineration or forms of waste management that exclude basic recyclers, while further contaminating the planet.
- Offer recyclers vehicles or collection carts suitable for transporting recyclable materials.
- Invite companies to promote internal recycling systems that formally include the work of recyclers (inclusive recycling)
- Invite citizens to hand over recyclable materials directly to recyclers, separated, clean and dry.
Context of Ecuador:
In Ecuador, approximately 5 million tons of waste are generated annually, of which only 5% are recycled. Of this percentage, 50% is recovered by waste pickers and waste pickers, who live by recovering and selling this material. In the country, there are about 20,000 people who work as waste pickers, 70% of whom are women.
ReciVeci was founded in 2015 as a citizen initiative that seeks to change the landscape of waste pickers and waste management. Now ReciveCI is a startup or social enterprise that promotes the separation, recycling and recovery of solid waste in homes and businesses in Ecuador through social and technological innovation with the ReciApp tool, the inclusive recycling application.
ReciApp: the inclusive recycling app in Ecuador
It is the first technological and social tool for inclusive recycling in Ecuador that connects citizens with waste pickers. Through this app, we connect citizens, public and private sectors with waste pickers and waste pickers to recover recyclable-returnable material and deliver it directly and safely into their hands, dignifying their work while citizens obtain points and rewards for recycling.
The app currently has more than 1,800 registered recyclers and nearly 2,000 active monthly users. The application also has an environmental calculator through which the user can find out how much their environmental footprint has been reduced with the recyclable material delivered to popular waste pickers through ReciApp.
Download the ReciApp for Android and iOS.
Context of Brazil
In Brazil, the National Movement of Waste Pickers and Collectors (MNCR) made a final estimate that there would be at least 800,000 of these professionals in the country. Considering their families, there are certainly more than 1 million people who make a living from recycling in the country.
Every year, 80 million tons of waste are generated in the country: 28 million are recyclable, but less than 4% of that portion is recycled. It is thanks to the work of the poorly paid and invisible waste pickers and waste pickers that 90% of this waste reaches the recycling industry.
Whether in cooperatives and associations, or in the streets and dumps (where most waste pickers are found in Brazil), these professionals fundamental to the Circular Economy and sustainable development are not recognized or fairly remunerated. That's the mission of Pimp My Carroça and Cataki.
Cataki: the inclusive recycling app in Brazil
Cataki emerges as a social technology to promote connections between waste pickers and other agents in the recycling chain, such as civil society, commerce, and industry. On our platform, available on Android and iOS, there are more than 50 thousand users in almost 2 thousand municipalities in the country.
Using the application's Impact Calculator, developed by the GEA Institute for educational purposes, it is estimated that the connections promoted by the platform have already contributed to saving 8,000 trees, 20 million liters of water, 350,000 liters of gasoline and avoiding the emission of almost 2 tons of greenhouse gases.
Download the app Cataki for Android and iOS.
