Waste Pickers

Can Cities Reach the Zero Waste Goal?

By Daniel Gutman
How should cities address the problem of waste? The most important thing is to set a clear objective: that the day will come when nothing will be sent to final disposal or incineration, says an international expert on the subject, retired British professor of environmental chemistry and toxicology Paul Connett, author of the book "The Zero Waste Solution."

Zero Garbage Plan Tied to Fate of Ousted Bogotá Mayor

By Constanza Vieira
The ousted left-wing mayor of the Colombian capital, Gustavo Petro, is a casualty of the battle over the introduction of a Zero Garbage programme, which had included thousands of informal recyclers in the waste disposal business.

Private Initiative Finds Garbage Profitable in Cuba

By Patricia Grogg
As self-employment and cooperatives expand in socialist Cuba, they are making incursions into new areas, such as waste picking and recycling – for many a means of subsistence, but for others, a gold mine.

Waste Pickers in Colombia Earn Formal Recognition

By Constanza Vieira
Nora Padilla, one of the six winners of this year’s Goldman environmental prize, dedicates her days to organising informal recyclers in the Colombian capital, where the city’s eight million inhabitants are just now reluctantly starting to classify their garbage at source.