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Read, Debate: Engage.
| topic: | Discrimination |
|---|---|
| located: | India |
| editor: | Bindu Gopal Rao |
The BBC Media Action’s recently launched communication initiative is designed to shift perceptions about waste picking and informal waste pickers in the city of Bengaluru, whom they rightly call ‘Invaluables’.
The aim behind the initiative, lead by the Saamuhika Shakti Collective Impact collective, is to make the contribution of informal waste pickers more visible to the general public while also improving the livelihood of this marginalised groups of people.
Informal waste pickers include street waste collectors, itinerant waste buyers and waste sorters. Street waste collectors, as the name suggests, are free-roaming waste pickers that operate independently purely by picking waste from streets, like plastic bottles, cardboards, milk packets, and multi-layered plastics, among other things. After collecting the waste, they sort it for around two hours and aggregate it within the place of collection and approach nearby scrap dealers to sell it to. Itinerant waste buyers usually go house-to-house purchasing items like newspapers, magazines and books and then sell them to local scrap shops. Waste sorters work in scrap shops and dry waste collection centres. Their role is critical to ensure waste is recycled in an environmentally sustainable way.
The role of these waste pickers may seem invisible, but it ensures that tonnes of material do not end up at dumpsites or landfills but at recyclers and scrap shops to create value from waste. 3,83,250 tonnes of reusable waste per year is stopped from reaching Bengaluru’s landfills according to Hasiru Dala, an organisation that works towards improving the livelihood and quality of life of Invaluables.
Formative research by BBC Media Action has revealed that the people of Bengaluru do not recognise the humans behind the process of informal waste management. While Bengaluru’s formal waste collectors, Pourakarmikas, have a fair degree of appreciation, the research showed a high level of stigma against informal waste pickers, who are virtually invisible.
The study further said there was a strong negative perception towards informal waste pickers because their physical appearance limits their interaction and acceptance in society. Nearly 55 percent of respondents said that informal waste pickers are dirty in appearance while 56 percent believed that they should not be allowed in building complexes and societies. Additionally, female waste pickers face abuse by men in neighbourhoods and violence at home and are particularly vulnerable.
The first phase of the campaign included bringing about a change of attitude in the informal waste-picker community towards their own contributions to society. The second phase of the campaign - which recruits the assistance of a music video - is aimed at bringing about behavioural change in society towards the Invaluables and their contributions. The efforts of this marginalised group of people directly contribute towards recycling and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions that occur due to the burning of waste or pollution. This is exactly what is being sought to be recognised for these invaluable people.
Photo by Hermes Rivera
