PRESS RELEASE -PICK-IT WASTE PICKERS
TEMA, GHANA – Globally millions of informal sector workers are critical players in the creating circular economies. In 2021, the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development project noted that 51% of waste collection in low-income neighborhoods is done by informal sector.
As Ghana seeks to achieve its Nationally Determined Contributions of reducing CO2 and decreasing waste landfilled, it has become clear that the informal sector plays a critical part in creating sustainable collection systems for communities throughout Ghana.
Over the past 2 years, the PWR Association of waste pickers in Tema working at Environment360’s Pick-It Center with support from the IKI Small Grants program, have worked closely to recover over 279 tons of plastic waste from the Tema community and its environs for recycling. This translates to about 1145 metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent recovered from the environment. This reflects just a fraction of the work that waste pickers all over the country are putting in to contribute to the Ghana Nationally Determined Contribution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris agreement.
This year the PWR Association marked Global Waste Picker’s Day under the theme “Empowering Waste Pickers Worldwide: Champions of Sustainability and Social Justice”. This theme speaks to the pivotal role waste pickers play in advancing environmental sustainability while emphasizing the urgency to address social justice issues associated with their work. The celebration is designed to showcase the positive impact of waste pickers on both the environment and society, alongside endeavors to support their well-being and rights.
Organizations such as Environment360 have over the years supported and advocated for the elevation of the living and working conditions of waste pickers through the formalization of waste picker operations, provision of capacity building and business development, community engagement to reduce stigma, and more importantly the provision of technology and technical training that allows us to become small-scale recyclers and earn more money to support ourselves and our families.
Ms. Selasi Charway-Glover, the program manager for the program, noted that in the past two years she has observed the financial elevation of many of the waste pickers working at the Pick-It Center.
“Through financial support from the German Federal Ministry of Environment, we have been able to create a unique value-added system that allows waste pickers to access a variety of social benefits by rewarding them for their collection and teamwork. This system has encouraged them to work together as a team, while also ensuring some of their most pressing needs such as childcare and technical training are met,” she said.
Despite these efforts there is still a huge opportunity for government, private and donor organizations to support these initiatives to improve on the working conditions and livelihoods of waste pickers. These include:
- Provision of financial support for technology and technical training – Though waste pickers are the main suppliers of the raw materials for recycling companies, the income generated from activities are not nearly enough to sustain their livelihoods. The provision of an avenue to transition to small scale recyclers provides the opportunity to earn more money.
- Recognition of the government for the informal waste management sector as an alternative waste management system for the country. Municipal and metropolitan assemblies must incorporate the informal waste management services in their planning, and recognize the efforts of the sector in supplementing waste management services within their areas.
- Support in the expansion and replication of successful informal sector waste management models around the country to increase impact and contributions towards sustainability.
Global Waste Picker Day Celebration is marked annually on 1st March in remembrance of the brutal death of the 11 waste pickers in Colombia, South America, who lost their lives in March of 1992. Their deaths were a reflection of the discrimination, disrespect and marginalization of waste pickers for the work they do.
Street Procession by Environment360 Pick-It Waste Pickers
