The waste picker fighting for global recognition

Presented by The American Beverage Association:

Apr 13, 2022 View in browser   By Catherine Boudreau Presented by VERBATIM Soledad Mella is a Chilean waste picker. | Photo Courtesy of the Global Alliance of Waste Pickers More than 20 million people around the world work as waste pickers. They are the de facto recycling system in many parts of Latin America, Africa and Asia, making a living by sorting through garbage for reusable materials, cleaning it and selling it up the value chain. But with no formal relationships with municipalities or scrap traders, these workers are often marginalized and largely invisible. Soledad Mella is trying to change that. She is president of a grassroots movement of waste pickers in her native Chile that is also part of a broader network across Latin America and the Caribbean, known as Redlacre, with 4 million members. She represented the Global Alliance of Waste Pickers at the U.N. Environment Assembly in Nairobi in February, where leaders from 175 countries agreed to negotiate a global treaty to end plastic pollution. For the first time, the parties acknowledged "the significant contribution made by workers under informal and cooperative settings to collecting, sorting and recycling plastics." Mella spoke with Catherine on Zoom through a translator about the impact of her life's work. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.   A message from The American Beverage Association: At America's beverage companies our plastic bottles are made to be remade. We're carefully designing them to be 100% recyclable, including the caps—so every bottle can become a new one. That means less plastic waste in our environment. Please help us get Every Bottle Back. EveryBottleBack.org   Why do you do this work — both waste picking, and social and environmental activism? I began as a social activist more than 35 years ago. I started to work with marginalized populations in Santiago de Chile. I lived in a neighborhood that is symbolic of organizing and unionism. My father was a farmer and very conscientious. He made me who I am today. I became a waste picker 17 years ago because the economy in Chile wasn't good and we were suffering from hunger. We had to find a way to survive – me, my children, my partner. I've been part of the rise of a profession that has always been invisible, that never had been given a face or a voice, but has always silently carried out a very important task. The men and women I represent suffered in many aspects of life; prostitution, alcoholism, drug addiction, homelessness and many other challenges that have always been part of our movement. Thankfully, that has gradually been disappearing because we've become an important movement at the Latin American and international level. We are trying to be the voice of waste pickers and represent ourselves. We don't need anybody to speak for us. We can represent ourselves and defend our fundamental rights. What has been the impact of this movement so far? We are building political power in our countries with regard to the laws and agreements being implemented on plastics and waste. There is also the impact of the work itself, which is extremely important economically and even more so environmentally. Every country has a waste management system that is worth millions. We collect the waste, transform it and hand it back to companies as raw materials. If we didn't participate, the cost of waste management would be higher. So in some way, we've made it less expensive for states and regions. We help avoid a linear economy and instead encourage a circular economy. Waste pickers existed before that term became fashionable. This avoids extracting more natural resources, which is harmful to the planet. Our impact is also linked to hundreds of tons of plastic that didn't end up in the river, land, sea or the environment.   INTRODUCING DIGITAL FUTURE DAILY - OUR TECHNOLOGY NEWSLETTER, RE-IMAGINED:  Technology is always evolving, and our new tech-obsessed newsletter is too! Digital Future Daily unlocks the most important stories determining the future of technology, from Washington to Silicon Valley and innovation power centers around the world. Readers get an in-depth look at how the next wave of tech will reshape civic and political life, including activism, fundraising, lobbying and legislating. Go inside the minds of the biggest tech players, policymakers and regulators to learn how their decisions affect our lives. Don't miss out, subscribe today.     Kenya's largest landfill continues to pile up. | (Brian Inganga/AP Photo) What do you want national governments to do?  There is a way to quantify the work we have carried out. For 17 years, I've been dealing with plastic bottles and all kinds of materials and giving them a second life. If we had to quantify those years of work in tons, no country could pay me enough for what I've done. We also need to talk about policies. In Chile, we have some good policies. But I don't know how good they will be in the future. One policy avoids plastic bags in supermarkets. Another rule [phases out single-use plastics at restaurants and cafes], but that excludes many companies that can still use them. There is also an extended producer responsibility law in Chile that mentions waste pickers as part of the waste management system. But the fact that we are included in a short paragraph in a law does not mean we are recognized. What kind of recognition are you hoping for? The EPR law tries to oblige informal workers to get training and certification, without providing any resources. Chile doesn't want to provide resources for us to obtain these certifications. The fact is, there is a historical debt to waste pickers in Chile and around the world. This debt is not being paid back. We need around $250 to $300 just to certify our skills. That shows there is no will to really recognize and give waste pickers the place they deserve. We now have a new government [under President Gabriel Boric]. We need to let them know who we are and what we do. But that happens every four years. We have to sit down and negotiate our rights again and again, rights that are never recognized. It should be established that we are an important link in the environmental chain and take care of something no one wants to take responsibility for.   STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.     How could a global plastics treaty make a difference? I would like this global treaty to recognize the work that we do and for every nation to take responsibility for the plastic problem and control overproduction. I went to Nairobi and saw one of the biggest landfills I've ever seen in my entire life. That showed me that as long as world leaders continue to chase after power and not realize that they are as mortal as everyone else, we all will be harmed by this. Seeing that made me lose hope in one way, but it also made me hopeful to see people — my brothers and sisters and colleagues — who directly live off rubbish [coming together at UNEA]. I have a lot of faith. I think at UNEA we changed the paradigm because the poorest of the poor participated and expressed ourselves. We said, 'Here are the hands that clean the world, and here is the face of waste pickers around the world.' What has been the impact on you and your family?   Being a waste picker is a difficult task. It's not easy to go and find garbage in the street, and put your hands inside. But I'm proud of what I do. My whole family are waste pickers, including my sons. They have gotten education thanks to this job. We not only get financial gain, but also environmental gain because we have a great impact on society. I defend these rights and my rights to live in a clean environment. A safe environment. I do this with my bare hands and with my heart.   A message from The American Beverage Association:   WHAT WE'RE CLICKING — A new survey shows the overwhelming majority of teenagers expect climate change to impact big life decisions like where to live and whether or not to have children, Axios reports. — If oil prices are dropping, why does it still cost so much to fill up your tank? The Wall Street Journal weighs in.   A message from The American Beverage Association: America's leading beverage companies - The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo - are working together to reduce our industry's plastic footprint through our Every Bottle Back initiative. We're investing in efforts to get our bottles back so we can remake them into new bottles and use less new plastic. Together, we're: · Designing 100% recyclable plastic bottles – we're making our bottles from PET that's strong, lightweight and easy to recycle. · Investing in community recycling – we're marshalling the equivalent of nearly a half-billion dollars with The Recycling Partnership and Closed Loop Partners to support community recycling programs across multiple states. · Raising awareness – we're adding on-pack reminders to encourage consumers to recycle our plastic bottles and caps. Our bottles are made to be remade. Please help us get Every Bottle Back. EveryBottleBack.org     Follow us on Twitter Catherine Boudreau @ceboudreau Debra Kahn @debra_kahn Greg Mott @gwmott Lorraine Woellert @Woellert Jordan Wolman @jordanwolman   Follow us

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