Barefoot College Heroes in our Current World. The Informal Waste Pickers.
They are the first people to ring your bell in the morning to rid your house of unsegregated trash. They do it with so much pride, and the truth remains that it is them, the waste pickers, who actually follow the guidelines to keep the environment clean.
Despite all the work they do to redefine our mother nature, the informal waste picking community remains marginalised and exploited.
Approximately 15 million people around the world are involved in informal waste recycling, mainly for plastics, metals, glass, and paper.
We have seen many cases of waste handlers being picked up by the police in case of thefts in their area, completely without proof, being threatened by cops or municipality workers to give bribes to gain access to be allowed to collect waste from the doorsteps of households.
We must understand that when a waste picker does not get access to waste, their daily livelihood stops, and their child does not get to go to school anymore.
A wide range of health issues also confronts those involved in the informal waste sector, working on waste dumps and landfill sites is inherently dangerous and there are frequent accidents including fires, explosions and, debris slides.
Most informal waste pickers do not wear protective equipment such as gloves and boots because of their relatively high costs and lack of risk awareness. Pickers often prefer to work barehanded for greater tactility but risk sharp trauma especially from glass and hospital waste containing syringes are often in direct contact with toxic materials as well as human/animal wastes.
Proper landfill management is therefore important to prevent scavengers accessing toxic waste sites.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be vital for improving waste management, including addressing environmental pollution problems, and for enhancing wellbeing of informal waste pickers.
These heroes and heroines were not born to collect trash, but they do it and do it with pride. I therefore propose in return, they should be respected
and given recognition by the governments for the work they do to keep our environment clean.
Corine Tap, President, Director of Danone AQUA, “They are the real heroes, front-liners; they help to keep the environment clean.”
Chopped by
