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How Waste Pickers Are Reshaping the Global Plastics Treaty

Three hands hold plastic items over a blue grid background, surrounded by waste objects, symbolizing recycling and environmental awareness.
Illustration by Yashashree Arawkar

Every morning at sunrise, millions of people head to work to do one of the most important jobs on Earth. They are not in suits or sitting in office towers. Instead, they put on gloves and boots and go out to sort through piles of trash, keeping our world from being totally buried in plastic.


These are waste pickers: about 20 million people worldwide, responsible for collecting and sorting up to 60% of all recycled plastic according to the Circulate Initiative. Without them, recycling systems in many countries would collapse. 


For years, nobody in power paid attention to them. However, that started to change in March 2022, when the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) formally recognized "the significant contribution made by workers in informal and cooperative settings to the collecting, sorting and recycling of plastics." This was the first time the essential work of waste pickers was acknowledged in any UN environmental resolution. 


This breakthrough came after the International Alliance of Waste Pickers (IAWP) sent nine waste pickers and their technical team to lobby at the Nairobi assembly, putting forward demands for recognition and inclusion. Building on this momentum, waste pickers secured official observer status and sent sizable delegations to every subsequent treaty negotiation round. At INC-5.2 (Intergovernemental Negotiating Committee) in Geneva, Switzerland in August 2025, they brought representatives from across the globe. Hailing from Brazil, Bangladesh and South Africa to name a few, the delegation made their voices heard in the halls where global plastic policy is decided. This was a groundbreaking moment that underscored their work as part of climate justice.


Why does this matter so much? Because waste, recycling, and plastic pollution are never just technical issues—they are tightly interwoven with inequality and injustice. Most of the Global North sends huge amounts of waste to the Global South. According to Break Free From Plastic, since 1988, more than 250 million tonnes of plastic waste has been exported globally, with Europe alone now exporting nearly 80% of the world's traded plastic waste annually, as reported by the World Economic Forum. This practice of what scholars call “waste colonialism” creates dumping grounds in countries of low-income, where already marginalized communities pay the price.


Many people living in the vicinity of these sites suffer serious health impacts including greater chances of cancer, asthma, birth defects, and exposure to harmful substances. According to the Fuller Project, in Kenya's Dandora dumpsite, Wanjira has watched her twins develop asthma from toxic exposure during her pregnancy. "I remember a doctor suggesting the twins were impacted in my uterus by the toxins I inhaled at the dumpsite," she says. "But there is nothing I can do. My kids must eat." She now uses discarded inhalers found on the dumpsite to treat their condition, unable to afford the regular 4,800 Kenyan shillings ($41) for proper medication. Meanwhile, huge profits continue to flow to the plastic companies that operate far from where these harms are felt. ExxonMobil’s Chemical division alone reported $2.6 billion in net income in 2024, as Statista reports.


While politicians argue at climate conferences, waste pickers wake up at 4 a.m. to salvage recyclables. They do more for the environment than many of us ever will, but earn below minimum wage and remain excluded from policymaking and major decision making. There are exceptions, though, like in Brazil, where waste pickers have formed cooperatives.


One group, Coopama, was given just three trucks and some basic funding to expand their collection routes and processing capacity, enabling them to pick up more recyclables, reach underserved neighborhoods, and increase overall recycling volumes. According to the Latin American Private Equity & Venture Capital Association, early-stage startups in Brazil typically raise seed rounds of $500,000 to $2 million, highlighting how minimal this support was. Despite such limited resources, the group doubled their collection and increased recycling by 400%. It shows what is  possible when workers are given basic support and recognition. This is why the Global Plastics Treaty matters.


For the first time, waste pickers were officially included in the talks  according to the International Alliance of Waste Pickers. These workers come from every continent, with Brazil leading with the highest number of organized waste picker cooperatives at 27. Brazil is followed by India with 25, and then Colombia with 13, but they are also found across Africa, Asia, and even developed countries like Canada, France, and the United States. Many waste pickers are women, Indigenous peoples, members of marginalized racial and ethnic minorities, survivors of violence, and people from historically oppressed communities. These are the people who face the greatest burdens of plastic pollution while doing some of the most essential environmental work according to WIEGO. 


Article 10 of the treaty is supposed to protect informal workers and ensure a "just transition", making sure that as we move toward better systems, the people who have been doing the hard work aren't forgotten. Yet, the current draft only includes voluntary language, using words like "should" instead of "must," which waste picker advocates argue is insufficient to protect the 40 million waste pickers worldwide whose livelihoods depend on this work, as reported by Down to Earth.


But here the most concerning part is that the negotiations wrapped up in August 2025 without a binding agreement. Oil companies and plastic manufacturers pushed hard against limits on plastic production. Instead of actually reducing production, they want voluntary measures and “better waste management.” Meanwhile, plastic production is on track to release over 56 billion tons of carbon by 2050, which could exhaust 10–13% of the world’s total carbon budget if we hope to stay under 1.5°C warming, according to the Center for International Environmental Law.  Right now, as the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory reports, making plastic already pollutes as much as 600 coal plants.


The stakes are high and waste pickers’ involvement is more than symbolic, it is revolutionary . According to BVRio, when governments and industries partner with waste picker cooperatives, provide fair compensation, and grant formal recognition, recycling rates can increase by more than 50%. In Colombia, companies like Nestlé and Coca-Cola have partnered with cooperatives, and both earnings and recycling improved. WIEGO reports that Brazil now has over 1,000 waste picker cooperatives, many of which are worker-owned and women-led, building gender equality and environmental justice.


That is why the failed negotiations are more than a political letdown; they are a moral failure. While wealthy countries debate voluntary versus mandatory rules, communities on the frontlines are literally poisoned. Children growing up in waste-picking areas suffer from asthma and lead poisoning and expectant mothers face toxic health risks, all of which are preventable.


The problem is that even Article 10’s language was watered down using words like “should” instead of “must.”  These words skirt accountability and environmental justice groups are demanding stronger language that guarantees no community is left behind and makes corporations financially responsible for cleanup and worker protections. That’s not “radical”, it’s just.


So, why should we care? Because the next round of treaty talks will determine whether global plastic policy grows into a truly justice-centered framework or stays stuck in top-down technical fixes. Waste pickers have already proven what is  possible with grassroots organizing, cross-border solidarity, and solutions that work for both people and the planet.


At the end of the day, we face a choice. Do we let corporations and wealthy nations continue pushing the costs of plastic onto vulnerable communities? Or do we build a new system where the people doing the toughest, most essential environmental work are recognized, protected, and fairly compensated? Waste pickers have shown the way. Now it is up to the rest of us to follow.




Edited by Tatenda Dlali


David Sathuluri (he/him) is a graduate in Climate Science and Society at Columbia University, New York and a writer at Political Pandora. His research interests include climate justice, Socio-Political Philosophy, environmental policy, Urban Studies, AI and Caste/ Race studies.

 


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Keywords: Waste Pickers, Plastic Pollution, Global Treaty, Recycling Workers, Plastic Waste, Climate Justice, Dumpsite Health, Global South, Just Transition, Worker Rights, Recycling Cooperatives, Plastic Reduction, Informal Workers, Global Policy, Environmental Justice, Circular Economy, Carbon Emissions, Plastic Industry, Global Recycling, Grassroots Action

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