Waste Picker

A waste picker is a person who salvages reusable or recyclable materials thrown away by others to sell or for personal consumption. There are millions of waste pickers worldwide, predominantly in developing countries, but increasingly in post-industrial countries as well.

Forms of waste picking have been practiced since antiquity, but modern traditions of waste picking took root during industrialization in the nineteenth century. Over the past half-century, waste picking has expanded vastly in the developing world due to urbanization.

Key actors in the informal economy, waste pickers make vital social, ecological, and economic contributions to their cities and help mitigate global warming. In many cities, they provide the only solid waste collection service. Yet they face many hardships, including stigma, exploitation by middlemen, and hazardous working and living conditions. In response, waste pickers in many parts of the world have begun collectively organizing to increase their political voice and economic leverage.

Interventions attempting to include / integrate the waste pickers into the formal solid waste management (SWM) systems should concurrently take into account aspects of the value and materials chain, social considerations, and ultimately ways to organise and empower the waste pickers. A methodological tool is available, offering a systematic approach to include / integrate initiatives (Integration Radar or InteRa).