“Just imagine all this pile being taken back to the city?” Mary Grace Nakirya points out gazing at the towering pile of plastic bottles ready to be given another shelf life at Acacia Foundation Limited, the largest plastic recycling plant in Uganda. Mary, a marketing manager at the company is standing at one of its premises situated in Kisenyi, one of the country’s largest slums, located a short distance from the bustling city center.
“This heap gets bigger”, She says, her voice tinged with bewilderment and concern. “Because every day it is reduced by tonnes, not kilograms but tonnes when they take it to the recycling plant.”
Right on que, a rumbling track enters the premises eliciting a flurry of activity as waste sorters swiftly pack and load the plastic bottles onto the big truck being transported to their recycling factory in Matugga.
“It is a lot of plastics bottles” Grace observes. “And what you see here is just the sorted portion collected by mainly these women and former street children. There’s residue, the non-PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) bottles and metals, that we have to manage separately. So these people that are doing this job as lowly as it may look, they’re doing a very big job.”
Uganda, like other countries across Sub-Saharan Africa continues to grapple with waste management challenges. According to the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), despite generating between 2,000 and 2,500 tons of waste per day in the capital Kampala, only 1,300 to 1,500 tons are officially collected and disposed of. The remaining 50% finds its way in trenches, dumping sites and drainages.
This uncollected waste has also become a source of income for informal waste pickers, primarily composed of women who collect, sort, store, and sell the waste to recycling hubs. With the global shift towards a circular economy model aimed at optimizing resource management and environmental sustainability, numerous companies are emerging to capitalize on this new model that emphasizes regeneration, recycling, repair, rent, and remanufacture.
According to the 2023 Global Circulatory Report by the International Labor Organization, this transition could generate approximately 8 million new jobs worldwide. However, will women in informal waste collection seize these opportunities, moving into higher-paid, more secure roles that demand enhanced skills?
Mary, operating at the intersection of waste collectors, sorters (comprising 80 percent women), and the recycling company, sheds light on the challenges faced by these unsung heroes.
“This is a dirty business, where these women barely afford a decent living. They collect bottles from the dirtiest places; trenches, waste bins, landfills, and dump sites, with no protection whatsoever. No gloves, no boots. Their fingers are usually swollen with nails about to drop off. It is a very dangerous kind of work for human health. They need equipment and protective gear but can’t afford them.”
No decent returns
Banura Khalil, a 38-year-old single mother of two says she was forced to join waste collection after her husband abandoned her. Without education, her options for employment, she says, were limited. She is now one of over 3,000 informal waste collectors, who roam the city daily, scavenging for valuable plastics, metals, and other forms of waste.
“This is a type of employment where you don’t need any kind of skill and experience. As long as you can pick the bottles and deliver them, you are given cash immediately.” She says. However there’s barely any decent returns. She says she takes two months to collect a tonne of bottles which fetches her less than 150 USD, without accounting for storage and transportation. To cut down on these costs, she was forced to set up a temporary structure next to the collection store. “I let the children sleep in the temporary structure with the bottles. Sometimes I have to stay awake in the night to keep the bottles from being stolen by other people interested in the business.” She laments.
Mary points out that the low skills and education levels among women like Banura, coupled with the informal and fragmented nature of their waste collection businesses, contribute to their lack of bargaining power. “They never account for their time and energy as long as they get a little payment from the sale of the bottles,” she says, “yet they spend a lot of time collecting, storing, and transporting the bottles. Others sell to middlemen, further diminishing their returns.”
Luke Carroll, a Policy Officer at the International Labour Organization, suggests addressing these challenges through the formation of cooperatives and engagement with municipal authorities.
“A few ways we can tackle these conditions include the organization of workers into cooperatives, and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises. Also engaging municipal authorities that they should provide some level of protection to these women and educational opportunities is crucial for promoting social mobility.”
Health woes
The health hazards faced by these informal waste pickers are another pressing concern. Banura says, with her meager income, she can neither afford decent medical treatment at the hospital nor the luxury of a day off. “When I fall sick, I feel I am losing a day because a day without collection means a day without a meal.”
Waste pickers inhale harmful gas and their skin is exposed to certain corrosive and carcinogenic elements within the wastes that they are scavenging on.
According to a 2020 report by the Endocrine Society and the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), plastics also leach hazardous chemicals into the environment, including endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which are linked to reduced fertility, pregnancy loss, and irregular menstrual cycles, and other conditions.
Speaking during a workshop for East and West African journalists organized by Afrika21 and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Nairobi, Casper Edmonds, Head of Unit; Business and Human Rights Coordinator at the International Labour Organization emphasized the need to have policies and laws that protect these women, especially those working in the informal sector, as the absence of law to protect them leaves them vulnerable to exploitation.
“There’s a lack of adequate data on informal workers. We need to find out what is going on at the global, regional, country level and then we need roadmaps, we need them in terms of legislation and policies that are implemented in practice.”
“These policies have to be for specific industries where there are more jobs generated in the Circular Economy and then we urgently need to protect those who work in the Circular Economy from the hazards they face whether it, is fumes, dust, or chemicals.” He adds.
A global treaty
Negotiations are currently ongoing to develop the Zero Draft Plastic Treaty, the first legally binding agreement on plastic pollution by the end of 2024. Global leaders are scheduled to meet for the fourth session of the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) on plastic pollution in Canada in April 2024.
The treaty aims to implement among other things inclusive Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) systems that incentivise recyclability and ensures producers bear responsibility for plastic products throughout their lifecycle. As cited in the Zero Draft Text for the treaty, such systems must also enable a just transition that promotes and facilitates a fair, equitable, and inclusive transition for affected populations, with special consideration for women and vulnerable groups.
Making strides
Uganda’s National Environment Management Authority is currently working on its EPR regulation, which will mandate companies to form Producer Responsibility Organizations (PRO) that will recruit recyclers and subsidize recycling.
The member firms will pay a monthly levy to the PRO, a move which Mary welcomes, suggesting could be used to improve the conditions of these informal workers.
“Since these companies are responsible for most of the plastic in the environment, I think they should mobilize and educate these women on how to protect themselves while handling this plastic and also provide them with protective gear and skills training.”
“I would also propose that the recycling companies buys the bottles at a higher price to enable the women to earn a little more such that they can grow their businesses and have decent shelter, health care and lifestyle.”
The Africa Development Bank estimates the annual market opportunity of the circular economy in Africa at around $8 billion. With the demand for skills such as advanced sorting techniques, waste management technology, and business acumen increasing, there is a chance for informal women waste collectors such as Banura to move beyond traditional roles and secure more decent work and lucrative positions within the waste management and recycling industry.
Casper emphasizes the need to learn from past mistakes and ensure the Circular Economy promotes fair working conditions and equality.
“If we want to accelerate the circular economy, let’s not make the mistakes of the linear economy, let’s not recycle the poor working conditions, the inequalities. Let’s make the Circular Economy one that is just, has decent jobs, and good for the planet. If we don’t provide women with better opportunities, we’re neglecting half the talent pool.”
