Government urged to recognize ‘waste pickers’ as partners in garbage management

A non-government organization urged the government yesterday to come up with measures to recognize "waste pickers" as formal partners in the management of garbage in the country.

The Ecological Waste Coalition (EcoWaste) said the roving waste pickers, also known as scavengers, could be effective allies in resource recovery and conservation, as they play a big part in diverting and reclaiming discards from dumps.

According to Beau Baconguis, toxics campaigner of Greenpeace and coordinator of the EcoWaste’s Task Force on Plastics, the enactment of Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, was seen as a significant step forward in solving the waste problem, as the law was hinged on principles of waste prevention, reduction, segregation at source, reuse and recycling.

"At first glance, the law seemed ideal. However, a more thorough assessment of the law revealed that the word ‘scavenger’ or the more politically correct term, ‘waste picker,’ is not even mentioned in RA 9003," she noted.

"Together with backyard recyclers and junkshop operators, waste pickers constitute the country’s informal recycling sector," she said.

Baconguis even pointed out that the need to address the plight of the waste pickers also remains urgent as dumpsites across the country were supposed to be closed since Feb. 16, as provided under RA 9003.

"The way forward is to fuse informal recycling initiatives with the formal in the local waste management plans and systems, and ensure humane livelihood for community recyclers, particularly the waste pickers," said Baconguis, stressing that government measures should recognize the roles of waste pickers and provide them with safe and sustainable jobs.

Baconguis, who conducted a research study on waste pickers, lamented that many waste pickers come from the provinces in search of better lives in the cities only to find that city life is not necessarily better.

She said that there are no resources to bring the waste pickers back to the province and that they are stuck with a means of survival that has "the stench of injustice."

Baconguis also said that recognition of waste pickers as formal partners of government in garbage management should be intertwined with an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system that companies must implement.

An EPR system is aimed at phasing out the use of toxic chemicals in all stages of production and the taking back of products upon reaching expiry date, Baconguis explained.

This, Baconguis said, will ultimately make working conditions much safer for those in the recycling sector.

Citing a study conducted by the Smokey Mountain Resource Recovery System (SMRRS), Mother Earth Foundation (MEF) and Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), Baconguis said that waste picking is one of the most hazardous jobs there is.