Waste picking as social provisioning: The case for a fair transition to a circular economy

Abstract

Implementing a circular economy in Latin America can be the opportunity to include waste pickers and other informal workers in a regenerative economic model. This study performed in-depth interviews with female waste picker leaders from Ecuador and Colombia. The results suggest that the modifying effect of becoming part of an association, rooted in social provisioning communities, enables exchange of materials and training while also creating social safety nets for circular economy activities to function in informal contexts. A set of 9Rs for a fair transition to a circular economy are proposed to guide policy and practice based on demands for dignity, carework counting, and environmental justice fostering what has worked and correcting the oppression that has accompanied the linear economy.