By Edu Abade
Some groups of environmental crusaders seeking greater empowerment of waste pickers across the country have demanded greater socio-economic opportunities, recognition of their role and an end to their stigmatization as they constitute a major segment of the larger society.
The groups including the Pan African Vision for the Environment (PAVE), Association of Scraps and Waste Pickers of Lagos (ASWOL), Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI) and Sustainable Research and Action for Environmental Development (SRADev Nigeria), made the demand at the end of a one-day workshop on organizing and skills training for waste pickers in Lagos.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the workshop, the groups lamented that in spite of their crucial role in waste management, especially in Lagos and other parts of the country, waste pickers are often sidelined and stigmatized in the scheme of things, stressing that they remain critical to the key activities of the Zero Waste Ambassadors Project and Capacity Building for Actors in the nation’s waste management sector.
The two-day engagement, which formed an integral part of the Multi-Solving Actions for Methane Reduction in Nigeria (MAMRN) Project, is targeted at waste pickers on the aegis of the Association of Scraps and Waste-Pickers of Lagos State (ASWOL).
The workshop, which also had civil society and the media participants, sought to raise awareness and build the capacity of waste pickers to better understand organic waste and how it can be transformed into valuable resources such as compost and bio-inputs.
The engagement also provided the waste pickers the opportunity to air their views on the challenges they face in their daily activities and the need for urgent actions on the part of the government and other stakeholders to address them.
During the discussions, participants observed that waste pickers are not recognized despite their role as frontline warriors in addressing environmental waste including plastic pollution just as they are usually stigmatized in society.
“The waste management sector remains largely unregulated.
They are exposed to hazards including dangerous chemicals, human waste and the elements in the course of their work and most times do not have protective gear.
“Waste pickers are not recognized and they lack the socio-economic opportunities required for a decent life. They are exploited by their employers and poorly paid, while they are usually denied the rights to union activities,” the communiqué stated.
The groups, therefore, recommended adequate recognition of waste pickers as the most important stakeholders in the waste management value chain and an end to their stigmatization, as well as identification and prosecution of those who engage in such practice.
“The government and all relevant authorities must allow the unionization of the waste management sector with priority accorded them in the decision-making table. Waste pickers should be adequately protected from work hazards through legislation that ensures that their employers provide them personal protective equipment and kits.
“Their socio-economic opportunities including training and skills acquisition opportunities must be guaranteed. Employers who subject waste pickers to anti-labour practices must be identified and prosecuted. There is also the need for public education and enlightenment on the importance and role of waste pickers in the waste management chain,” the communiqué added.
