A silent workforce tirelessly sorts, collects, and recycles what society discards. Waste pickers, often overlooked and unrecognized—play a critical role in Tanzania’s waste management system. They recover valuable recyclables, reduce landfill waste, and contribute to the circular economy. Yet, their work remains informal, leaving them vulnerable to economic insecurity, health risks, and social exclusion.
March 1st marks International Waste Pickers Day, a day to recognize and honour the millions of waste pickers worldwide who risk their lives daily to make cities cleaner. This day was established in 1992, after the tragic Colombia Massacre, where 11 waste pickers were brutally murdered while working in a university landfill. The incident highlighted the vulnerability of waste pickers globally and sparked a movement to demand better working conditions, legal recognition, and fair wages.
To commemorate this day, the Waste Pickers Summit 2025 was organized by the Tanzania Waste Pickers Association (TAWAPA) in collaboration with the International Alliance of Waste Pickers (IAWP), Nipe Fagio, and Taka ni Ajira Foundation. The summit theme was “Strengthening Leadership and Capacity Building for Waste Pickers Organizations in Tanzania”.
The main objectives of this summit were to train TAWAPA leaders and waste picker CBOs on leadership, advocacy, financial management, and organizational sustainability. Providing a platform to exchange best practices, challenges, and experiences in waste management. The summit facilitated discussions on policies affecting waste pickers and advocated for their formal recognition. This will strengthen partnerships between waste picker organizations, government agencies, and environmental stakeholders.
The stakeholders’ meeting was championed by the International Alliance of Waste Pickers (IAWP) delegation that included Rachel Muturi from Kenya, Maddie Koena from South Africa, and Johnson Doe from Ghana. A powerful discussion was conducted with key stakeholders, government officials, and Waste Picker leaders to exchange insights on the future of Waste Pickers in Tanzania, policy inclusion, economic empowerment, and sustainable Waste Management solutions.
Marwa Mohabe, a representative from The Dar es Salaam Urban Resilience Programme (DURP) highlighted how Waste Pickers play a role in building a resilient city. He highlighted that Waste Pickers play a critical role in Waste Management but remain excluded from formal systems. Integrating Waste Pickers into urban resilience plans strengthens sustainability, economic opportunities and social equity.
According to the Strategy on Organic Waste Management in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (2017), an estimated 1,200 waste pickers actively collect and sort waste across streets, illegal dumpsites, and Pugu Kinyamwezi dumpsites. Despite their contribution, they lack legal recognition, access to social security, and financial support. Research by IAWP further reveals that over 1,237 waste pickers operate across informal recycling transfer stations and dumpsites daily, yet they remain outside formal waste management systems.
During the training sessions, Waste Pickers raised critical challenges they face including lack of recognition, legal protections, poor working conditions, health risks, and limited access to financial and business support. Some of the recommended and proposed solutions included policy reforms to formalize waste pickers’ work, waste pickers’ rights, and financial inclusion programs to empower waste pickers economically.
According to The Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), “The experiences of waste picker organizations from Latin America, Asia and South Africa show that these needs are achievable by building representative organizations to ensure their voices are heard in negotiations with governments and society. Organised waste picker groups require waste pickers to work collaboratively and embed the principles of democracy, equality and environmental justice in their organised structures.”
The waste picker mapping exercise, held on March 2nd and 3rd, 2025, aimed to collect vital data on their working conditions and socio-economic challenges. This effort will help design targeted intervention strategies to improve their livelihoods and rights. Additionally, the mapping was a key step in meeting the requirements for TAWAPA’s affiliation with IAWP, enabling future international collaboration. Strengthening waste pickers’ networks through such initiatives ensures better recognition, support, and policy advocacy for their work.
In the long run, formalizing waste pickers is not just an environmental necessity, it is a social justice issue. Government agencies, environmental organizations, and waste picker associations must work together to implement inclusive policies that recognize waste pickers as essential workers. Strengthening partnerships between waste pickers and formal waste management entities that will establish financial programs that enable waste pickers to scale their operations and improve livelihoods. As Tanzania moves towards a zero-waste future, it is time to ensure that the people at the heart of waste management, “Waste Pickers” are not left behind.
