The waste value chain is complex and profit margins are small, yet it is estimated that globally, between 1 and 2 percent of people make their living from waste. From resource recovery to innovating and entrepreneurialism, WasteAid’s programming works to ensure these livelihoods are healthy, resilient and profitable.
One of the biggest challenges in building an inclusive global circular economy, is that many waste collectors are only paid for the value of the materials they collect, and not for the value of their service to society.
The value of materials rise and fall with the price of oil, adding to the financial risks that collectors face. Different materials also hold different value, affecting which materials are collected and which remain as litter.
Understanding these market constraints enables WasteAid to design programmes that maximise value recovery and provide a buffer against market value fluctuations for waste collectors, who are often among the most vulnerable in society.
Livelihoods in waste management offer a range of roles in skilled and unskilled labour, and can be inclusive of people with disabilities, low literacy, or with other daily responsibilities. WasteAid helps to overcome the stigma associated with waste, by working with first-step resource managers and policy-makers to see this vital work recognised and valued.
Since many people at the start of the value chain are self-employed, they often lack the capacity to handle larger volumes of material and can be exploited by middle-men who aggregate materials and sell them on at a higher price. WasteAid works with vulnerable groups to enable them to retain as much of the value in collected materials as possible.
WasteAid works with the most vulnerable and marginalised groups in the value chain. There is sometimes pressure for these people to become formalised and integrated into municipal or private sector systems, and this can have negative consequences or even exclude people who are unable to work regular hours or travel far for work.
WasteAid’s programmes seek to build understanding between the public sector and the informal waste sector, so that the positive impacts of waste management and those involved in its labour can be properly valued. Where options exist for the professionalisation and, where appropriate, formalisation of activities, WasteAid works to leverage these opportunities to the benefit of everyone in the value chain.
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