In the global pursuit of a circular economy for plastics, attention has turned towards prioritizing the role of informal waste workers. With upcoming negotiations for a global treaty on plastics pollution and the signing of its final text on the horizon, stakeholders within plastics supply chains are urged to adapt for transformation.
Informal waste workers, constituting a significant community managing 58% of global plastic waste collection and recovery, are positioned at the heart of this transition. Recognizing their indispensable role, the United Nations Environment Program stresses that any meaningful transformation in plastic usage must incorporate their involvement.
Presently, informal waste workers operate within a largely unregulated environment, leading to inconsistencies in both recycled material quality and worker treatment. To shift from the linear “take-make-waste” model to a circular one, centered on eliminating extraneous plastic packaging and recycling remaining plastics, standards for collection and sortation must be elevated. This necessitates not only improved infrastructure but also a renewed focus on the rights of waste workers.
Empowering marginalized waste workers is fundamental to advancing circularity in plastic supply chains. Addressing plastic pollution involves enhancing both the social and environmental dimensions of supply chains, intertwining the two aspects.
Currently, waste issues are relegated to economically disadvantaged areas, marginalizing both the rights of individuals and the significance of waste workers’ roles. However, these workers possess unparalleled insights into plastic waste dynamics, emphasizing the need for a grassroots approach that values their experiences and input.
Transparency emerges as a critical element for effective supply chain transformation. Businesses are urged to comprehensively map out their supply chains, fostering trust and collaboration with suppliers and waste worker communities. Such transparency ensures an equitable transition to a circular economy, leaving no one behind.
The transition to a circular economy for plastics, alongside reduction strategies, emerges as a pivotal component in combating plastic pollution. Prioritizing inclusivity and justice in this transition involves centering waste workers and coastal communities, often overlooked in current discourse.
To universalize due diligence, rigorous standards are required for all entities involved in plastic collection and recycling. Initiatives such as the Prevented Ocean Plastic Standards aim to minimize environmental impact, ensure product quality, and improve worker conditions, fostering a more sustainable approach to plastics management.
Supply chain transparency not only advances social and environmental objectives but also enhances economic resilience in an evolving market landscape. As businesses navigate the challenges of the climate crisis and embrace circularity, understanding and collaboration with frontline waste workers become indispensable.
In a rapidly changing world, waste workers stand as key stakeholders in realizing the vision of circularity within supply chains.
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