Circularity 20: The Human Dimension of Waste Collection

Moderator: Vivien Luk, Executive Director, WORK

Panelists: 
Bharati Chaturvedi, Founder & Director, Chintan 
Keiran Smith, CEO & Co-Founder, Mr. Green Africa 

The important work led by waste collectors globally oftentimes go unnoticed yet it’s a critical ingredient in structuring a well functioning circular plastics economy. In the session, we’ll cover:

• The vital role of waste collectors in global supply chain, including who exactly are we referring to; 

• What drives a human-powered supply chain, how to properly engage with it, and what this means for your bottom line; 

• Ideas and advice for industries to actively engage and acknowledge waste collectors in their work.

Please reach out to any of our organizations with questions and opportunities to collaborate.

Mr. Green Africa

The Future of Recycling will be changed by alleviating the marginalisation, suffering, and large scale disadvantage of informal waste pickers and their communities. We have designed a human-centered business model that illustrates shared value at its best; Mr. Green Africa incentivises marginalised waste pickers & base of the pyramid stakeholders by offering premium prices and added benefits, to provide a continuous supply of valuable recyclables which in turn creates pathways out of poverty for them, while simultaneously creating a positive environmental impact.

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Mr. Green Africa then processes the recyclable material into valuable raw material and feeds it back into plastic manufacturers’ supply chain to enable them to achieve their circular economy goals, and benefit from raw material cost savings.

Key questions to be answered to get your company ready for the “PCR journey”:

• Is your product portfolio ready?
• Are your converters/packaging suppliers ready for PCR inclusion?
• Does your business have an impact (social & environmental) driven procurement strategy?

For all these questions MGA can support any business to guide them for effective preparation. Send an e-mail to keiran@mrgreentrading.com to request for more information and schedule a call.

Chintan

Chintan reduces waste and consumption, manages solid and electronic waste and advocates around materials, waste and consumption. It uses waste as a tool to fight poverty, child labour gender based violence and exclusion and climate change, while creating green livelihoods. Chintan pushes back and combats unsustainable consumption. Its work directly supports the UN's Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17.

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To engage with Chintan, reach out to Bharati Chaturvedi at bharati@chintan-india.org.

WORK and First Mile

The First Mile, an initiative of Thread International and WORK, supports waste collectors in Haiti, Honduras, and Taiwan to recycle plastic and earn a dignified income while diverting waste destined for oceans and landfills. These recycled materials are then sourced to First Mile Member brands to be processed into consumer products that deliver a social, environmental, and financial impact. 

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The First Mile works with multinational consumer products brand partners to map recycle material waste sheds all over the world, facilitate the economic and social connections necessary in each node of the supply chain to meet demands of its collectors and brand partners; recommend programming that both increases the amount and quality of waste that can be diverted and improves livelihoods, and implements programing that ensure the social responsibility of the supply chains.

First Mile has also expanded and improved low‑value recycled polyethylene terephthalate (“rPET” or “plastic bottles”) reclamation supply chains in three countries over five years to support jobs for people living in poverty. So far, these chains have diverted approximately over 100 million plastic bottles from landfills and oceans and have provided income opportunities for over 2,000 people. First Mile supply chain processes are waste agnostic, and can be directed to collect and aggregate a variety of waste materials.

To inquire about First Mile material and supply chain strategy, reach out to Vivien Luk at vivien@dowork.org.

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