TWO DELEGATES from SWaCH (Solid Waste Collection and Handling), Pune,
addressed an audience which included the Pope at the Third World
Meeting of Popular Movements in Vatican City, Rome.
The convention is being held between November 2 and November 6, to
discuss ways of social inclusion by reflecting on the organisational
experiences of popular movements by the most disadvantaged around the
world.
The delegates, Kavita Vinod Pawar and Sandhya Dhamale explained the
plight of waste pickers at the meeting organised by the Pontifical
Council for Justice and Peace in collaboration with various other
organisations working for social justice.
“We are recycling agents and help slow down climate change, but never
receive our dues. We have to struggle to make ends meet despite the
service we offer in keeping the city clean and the environment less
polluted,” said Pawar in her address.
SWaCH was among the 150 participating organisations invited from the
world over. It was invited to share the struggle of waste pickers in
Pune towards integration into the formal Solid Waste Management systems.
Pawar and Dhamale met with leaders from other grassroot organisations
of waste collectors, excluded workers, migrants, informal and young
people’s groups, landless farmers, inhabitants of urban informal
settlements and marginalised areas.
The Pope himself highlighted the growing degradation of workers and their working conditions including housing and food.
Pawar shared the experiences and struggles that she and her fellow
waste pickers undergo on an everyday basis and how they still have
several battles to fight before they get what is rightfully their due.
“We sort through everyone’s waste and salvage a living for ourselves. Yet we do not have proper spaces to sort the waste. If we had the
facilities promised to us we would work more efficiently, in less time,
and divert even more waste into the recycling streams.”
Social security
and education for their children are far away dreams, she added.
“We are happy to meet and share our experience with waste pickers
from so many different countries. The time has come to recognize waste
pickers as entrepreneurs and champion recycling agents, and for the
governments and citizens to value the contribution of waste pickers to
the society and the environment,” said Sandhya Dhamale.
It would be a
concrete move towards an inclusive society where all are viewed as
equals, she said.