Just Recycling

How Waste Pickers Benefit Cities

Just Recycling is a short video that examines how informal waste pickers make their cities healthier and more beautiful, lower greenhouse gas emissions, preserve resources and save municipalities a lot of money.

Millions of people worldwide make a living from materials that others have thrown away. In some communities, these informal workers provide the only form of solid waste collection, reducing landfill costs and achieving high recycling rates. Despite their contributions, waste pickers are often overlooked, maltreated — even criminalized.

But this is slowly changing. Just Recycling depicts how waste pickers in different countries have been successfully integrated into municipal waste systems, creating better communities and more secure livelihoods.

(Video also in Zulu | en español | en français)

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