🌍♻️ Waste pickers must be at the center of any just transition on plastics. IAWP joined global discussions at the University of St Andrews on sustainable plastic waste management, bringing frontline worker perspectives into the debate. ✊ #WastePickers #JustTransition #PlasticTreaty

“For the first time, we participate here with our credentials as the International Alliance of Waste Pickers.” ♻️✊ A historic moment for waste pickers at the 114th ILC.

🌎♻️ ¡Estamos contratando! La IAWP busca Coordinador/a Regional para América Latina y el Caribe. 📩 Postulá enviando tu CV a los correos de la imagen o escaneando el QR.

♻️🤝 During the Zero Waste Forum in Türkiye, the GAIA and IAWP delegations visited our affiliate IGDID. 🗣️ Ali Mendillioğlu: “Our fight is not only for our economic gain. Unless we're fighting against capitalism, they will continue to exploit our bodies, insult our women, and oppress minorities.”

Our new report spotlights the essential role of waste pickers in building climate solutions rooted in justice, inclusion &community leadership. READ: https://www.no-burn.org/resources/managing-organics-with-waste-pickers-a-briefing-for-policymakers/ #GoForZeroWaste #AfricaDay @globalrec.bsky.social#GoForZeroWaste

It’s time for policies and funding to match their impact. READ: www.no-burn.org/resources/ma... #environmentaljustice #GoForZeroWaste @ccacoalition.bsky.social @globalrec.bsky.social

♻️✊ A new week of mobilization begins. From June 7–11, waste pickers across Brazil will organize, mobilize, and celebrate 25 years of struggle. Together with MNCR, Ancat, Unicatadores, and allies, the IAWP stands with waste pickers fighting for recognition, rights, and a just future.

On #AfricaDay, the International Alliance of Waste Pickers and @gaiazerowaste.bsky.social draw attention to a simple truth: when waste pickers are included in organic waste systems, communities and the climate both win.

♻️ Waste pickers in Ecuador are building powerful systems of reuse beyond recycling through repair, resale, and community recovery 🌎✊ New research with RENAREC Ecuador, GIZ & University of St Andrews 💚 📘 Available in English & Spanish!

Waste picker families in Ghana lost their homes after violent demolitions. These are workers who protect our environment every day, yet are treated as disposable. Stand with the affected families. 👉 www.mchanga.africa/fundraiser/1... #NotDisposable

✊🌍 On #MayDay, informal workers worldwide stand united to defend democracy, rights, and dignity. From war to rising authoritarianism, workers face displacement, unpaid wages, and deepening inequality. 🔥 Organize. Unite. Transform. #NotDisposable

Jakarta 🤝 The IAWP delegation met with Francisco de la Torre 🇲🇽 to strengthen dialogue on waste pickers’ role in just, sustainable systems ♻️ We also honoured Abel Balderas Ramírez 🏅 for his leadership and commitment. From the ground to diplomatic spaces 🌐✊🏽

🌍♻️ The new IAWP website is now live. Across 37 countries, 59 organisations and 500,000+ waste pickers are organising in territories and shaping global policy spaces like the Global Plastics Treaty, UNEA, and the ILO. 🔗 www.wastepickersinternational.org

Today in Jakarta, the International Alliance of Waste Pickers launched its new global website. A platform representing 500,000+ waste pickers across 37 countries, bringing visibility to their work, leadership, and rights. 🔗www.wastepickersinternational.org

Global worker networks unite to defend the Social & Solidarity Economy as a path to decent work and resilience ♻️✊🏽 With IAWP, HomeNet, StreetNet, IDWF & WIEGO Read the statement: bit.ly/3Qg8gyA

NEW research shows waste pickers are frontline climate actors 🌍💪 ➡️ 170–390 million tonnes of CO2eq avoided every year ➡️ ~44 tonnes per worker annually ➡️ Up to 17% of global waste sector emissions mitigated From the margins to the centre of climate solutions 📊✨ 🔗 www.bit.ly/IAWPWIEGO

Historic win in Colombia 🇨🇴♻️ After decades of struggle led by the Asociación Nacional de Recicladores de Colombia, Decree 0271 recognises waste pickers as workers with rights 🛠️📜 A big step for dignity & #JustTransition ✊🏽🌍 Now: implementation 🚧🔥

🚩 Grassroots recycling & public policy 🗓️ March 26 | 🕒 15:00 📍 PIT-CNT 🎥 Live on YouTube Organized by waste picker networks & PIT-CNT

Recognize. Respect. Reward. ♻️ Waste pickers already sustain the system—time to make them visible, valued, and paid. Read Here 👇

#GlobalRecyclingDay 2026 webinar 🌍♻️ “Turning Waste into Opportunity” isn’t just a theme—it’s a call to action. From waste to wealth, from exclusion to recognition. Let’s make it real. 🔄✨

From Nakuru, this joint celebration of International Day of Forests and World Water Day reminds us that environmental action must center people — especially those most impacted. 🌿 Forests and Economies 💧 Water and Gender Equality 🤝 One event, shared responsibility

Waste pickers are central to reuse economies — yet their work often remains invisible. This new publication highlights their contributions in Italy and why recognition in public policy is key for a just transition. 📄 Available in English & Italian. 📲 Scan the QR to read. #WastePickers #IAWP

(EN) Dumpsite closures must not exclude waste pickers ♻️✊🏽 (ES) El cierre de vertederos no puede excluir a los recicladores ♻️✊🏽 (FR) La fermeture des décharges ne doit pas exclure les récupérateurs ♻️✊🏽 (ID) Penutupan TPA tidak boleh mengecualikan pemulung ♻️✊🏽 🔗 Link: www.bit.ly/IAWPDCStatement

Women waste pickers are not “included” in recycling systems; they built them. From the streets to cooperatives, from survival to leadership — women waste pickers sustain recycling, organize communities and fight for dignity. No just transition without them. ♻️✊🏾 #InternationalWomensDay

March 1 is International Waste Pickers Day ♻️🕯️ We honor the 11 waste pickers murdered in 1992—and all who’ve lost their lives to unsafe conditions. Their lives are not disposable. 🔗 Read our full statement and stand with waste pickers worldwide: www.bit.ly/IAWP1M

Mathare waste pickers in Nairobi are organizing a Waste Pickers Awareness Walk on 1st March, International Waste Pickers Day. ♻️✊ Standing for dignity and full inclusion in waste management systems — the walk will take place at Mathare Social Justice Centre.

With fellow waste pickers in Peru 🇵🇪♻️ we joined source-segregated collection days — grassroots-led efforts that support municipal recycling goals 🏙️📊 Proud to stand with Asociación de Recicladores ATE ✊🏽, member of the Frente Nacional Ambientalista de Recicladores 💚🌱

🇨🇦 Vancouver | This #March1, we celebrate waste pickers ♻️ Through the 12th Annual Coffee Cup Revolution, Binners' Project collected a record 213,841 cups — proving that the invisible labour of binners keeps valuable materials out of landfill and strengthens circularity. 💚 📸 Lani Brunn

♻️💚 This #InternationalWastePickersDay 2026 we unite in Dandora, Kenia, for Dignity, Safety & Recognition. From testimonies to a solidarity march ✊🏽 No just transition or circular economy without waste pickers 🌍✨ #JustTransition #WastePickers

We welcome the election of Julio Cordano of Chile as Chair of the INC for the Global Plastics Treaty 🌍♻️ For waste pickers and other workers in the informal economy, this is a key moment to push for recognition, rights, and a truly just transition ✊🏽🔥 Recycling without waste pickers is garbage 💚♻️

Informality affects 6 in 10 workers worldwide. ✊🌍 Watch this TV interview (Portuguese) with Severino Lima Jr., President of IAWP, on why organizing informal workers is key to rights, democracy, and a just future of work.

From the streets to the city’s arteries 🚇✊ The faces of Bengaluru’s waste picker leaders — Indumathi, Krishna, Mansoor, and many more from Thyajya Shramika Sangha — are now visible in metro train coaches and bus stands across the city. Visibility is power. Recognition is political. ♻️💚

At the invitation of our partner WIEGO, the International Alliance of Waste Pickers is represented by Maddie, Rachel & Harouna at a 2-day workshop in Nairobi on landfill closures ♻️⚠️ Standing up for waste pickers’ livelihoods ✊

Ho Chi Minh City, January 2026 A collective embrace turned into a shared moment of struggle, care, and strategy. Office Bearers, Subcommittee Chairs, and IAWP staff came together to reflect, debate, learn, and realign our work — always keeping waste pickers and worker-led organizing at the center.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met and welcomed IAWP leaders Severino Lima Jr. and Maditlhare Koena at #ExpoCatadores2025, reaffirming the central role of waste pickers in the just transition and the circular economy — from Brazil to the world. ♻️🌍

♻️ Waste pickers are ready to lead organic waste management — but they need justice: stable contracts, segregation at source, strong laws, and real investment. The models exist. Now we scale them. #IAWP #WastePickers #JustTransition

🔥 COP30 changed the game: Workers in informal employment — 58% of the world’s workforce — gained historic recognition in climate decisions. Now the fight moves to financing and implementation. 👉 Full statement here: www.bit.ly/IAWPforCop30

📌 Exploring Inclusive Climate Governance through the Global Ethical Stocktake 📅 19-11 // 12:30 – 13:30 // Resilience Hub Pavilion – Blue Zone 🤝 Severino Lima Jr., President of the IAWP, will represent waste pickers and highlight their essential role in climate mitigation.

Waste pickers are already cutting methane, reducing CO₂ and building circular economies — yet we still receive almost no direct climate finance. Nothing about us, without us. 🔗 bit.ly/IAWPCOP30

📣 People Driving the Circular Economy ♻️ At today’s session on integrating waste pickers into aluminium recycling, we highlight their key role in keeping global recycling rates high — yet they remain excluded from climate finance and policy spaces. 🗓 13 Nov • 16:30–17:30 EST 📍 Belém, Brazil

🌍💚 At #COP30, waste pickers & allies call to fund people, not incinerators. Zero waste systems — composting, reuse, recycling — are fast & affordable ways to cut methane & create jobs. 📍 Belém | 🕔 Nov 11, 5PM BRT 🔗 Watch live: unfccc.int/cop30/schedule #IAWP #GAIA #ZeroWaste

🌎♻️ IAWP Delegation at COP30 – Belém, Brazil 🌿 Representing decades of grassroots organization and climate leadership, this team brings the voice of millions of waste pickers to the global stage.

🇲🇱 Women leading change in Mali! The Minister for Women, Children & Families gathered civil society leaders to address the national crisis. 💪🏾 The Malian Association of Waste Sorters (AMTDDO) — an affiliate of the IAWP — joined with 15+ women raising their voices for resilience & solidarity.

🌿♻️ Belém opens its 1st public composting system with waste pickers — just before #COP30! Waste pickers from MNCR, IAWP, & Red Lacre will join the opening + panel “The COP30 Legacy for Waste Pickers.” 🗓️ Nov 9 | 9:30–17h | Belém (PA) 📍 CONCAVES HQ

🌍 Tomorrow is a historic day! Waste pickers & other Popular Movements meet Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, continuing Francis’s legacy for #LandHousingWork. IAWP will be represented by President Severino Lima Jr 🇧🇷 joining global grassroots leaders. 🗓️ Oct 23 | 4 PM Rome 📍 Paul VI Hall

📢 We’re hiring! 🌎♻️ The International Alliance of Waste Pickers (IAWP) is looking for a Research Coordinator to lead global studies on waste pickers’ rights, livelihoods & climate justice. 🗓️ Apply by Oct 31, 2025 🔗 bit.ly/3WRag0g #IAWP #WastePickers #Hiring #JustTransition #GlobalSouth

🌎♻️ Waste pickers from Brazil, Latin America & Africa gather in Belém for the Pre-COP 30 Waste Pickers’ Meeting to build solidarity & ensure our voices shape the climate agenda. Together we’re paving a just path to #COP30. #IAWP #MNCR #ClimateJustice #PreCOP30

🌎 North American Waste Pickers Exchange 🇨🇦 Reclaimers from across the continent met in Vancouver to share strategies, strengthen reclaimer-led recycling, and push for fair handling fees & dignified work ✊♻️ Together we build justice from the ground up. 💚 #WastePickers #IAWP

Thousands of reclaimers keep Johannesburg clean — now their livelihoods are at risk. Stand with them. ✊ Sign the call to stop the landfill crisis 👇

♻️🇮🇹 In Italy, 60,000 reuse workers rescue 200,000+ tons from waste every year — but remain invisible. ✊🏽 Their dignity can’t wait. ⚖️ The International Alliance of Waste Pickers may take the fight to the European Court of Human Rights. Read here (italian): www.ecodallecitta.it/riutilizzo-i...