We offer technical, logistical, and organizational assistance to lay the foundations of a National Movement of Base Recyclers in Mexico. It aims to group and represent thousands of recyclers to demand the recognition of their labor rights, improving their living conditions and formalizing their essential contribution to the circular economy and environmental sustainability.
This is a project in partnership with the Union of Industrializable Solid Waste Workers "Lázaro Cárdenas del Río" and WIEGO to replicate the organizational successes of recyclers in other Latin American countries. Our task is to support the leadership of the movement in the dual mission of:\n1. Laying the organizational foundations to create a movement that brings together thousands of grassroots recyclers across the country.\n2. Building strong relationships of trust and solidarity between state organizations for effective collective action.\nThe above includes logistical and organizational support for holding national meetings and consolidating a national structure.
Base recyclers make a critical environmental and economic contribution, as they extend the useful life of raw materials, landfills, and sanitary landfills. However, they work under precarious conditions: with long hours, without access to labor rights or sanitary services and exposed to extortion.
Unlike countries like Brazil and Colombia, Mexico is several decades behind in recognizing this sector. Faced with the fall in raw material prices and the urgency to close open-air dumps due to their health and environmental risks, it is imperative that recycling workers organize and demand recognition for their work. Our technical assistance seeks to bridge this gap and build collective power for the defense of their rights.
We want to establish the organizational and logistical foundations for the creation of a self-sufficient National Movement of Grassroots Recyclers with negotiation capacity. The long-term impact will be:
1.The formal recognition and access to labor rights for thousands of recycling workers.
2.The formalization of the sector. We seek to strengthen the level of organization and capacity for impact of the sector to transform waste management policies.
3.Support in building trustful relationships among the grassroots of the movement, an indispensable asset for the success of the Movement and the struggle of recyclers.
WIEGO, Avina Foundation, Union of Industrializable Solid Waste Workers "Lázaro Cárdenas del Río