Waste Pickers

One of the newest concepts in the environmental movement is the idea of "Zero Waste".  Instead of seeking to ‘manage’ waste, the zero waste approach aims to eliminate it. Zero waste considers the entire life cycle of the material objects in our lives, everything from chairs to cars to computers. These goods are merely one point in a long chain of activities – natural resource extraction, processing, production, transportation, consumption, and disposal – which is simultaneously exhausting the planet’s resources and creating increased pollution. Zero waste re-examines this system with an ethical, economic, and environmental eye. It recognizes that the “upstream” problems of deforestation, mining and global warming are directly linked to the “downstream” problems of waste, pollution and toxics.

Crucial to the zero waste movement, but frequently unseen or unnoticed are waste pickers. Waste pickers exist in every society in the world, to varying degrees. They compliment or replace existing recycling systems by scavenging out of the waste stream all materials that can be reused, re-purposed, or recycled. Waste pickers are increasingly organizing themselves as a political and economic force. South Africa just celebrated it's first ever national waste picker gathering. You can read more about it on the groundWork website.

Filmmakers in Egypt have just completed a full length documentary about three boys working as waste pickers. You can watch the trailer and read more about the film on their website.