Building a safe, profitable and collaborative recycling network that grants waste pickers dignity and embeds them in a mutually supportive value chain with business actors from different social strata.
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OUTPUT
600 waste pickers from vulnerable social groups received training and tools to become professional recyclers.
OUTCOME
Waste pickers increased their collection of valuable recyclables by 44%, which are sold at market prices and represent an important source of income.
HIGHLIGHT
320 waste generators – from small shops to larger enterprises – are forming a network of eco-friendly businesses, incentivised to sort their waste by credits disbursed as a block-chain community currency.
Anybody working as a waste picker sees the kind of joy that comes from recycling . . . recycling saves lives.
Our Commitment
Reciclamos Juntos, by Fundes and the Julius Baer Foundation, fosters professional relationships across the socioeconomic classes. It links waste generators, waste pickers, collection centres, processing plants and public schools:
- to create a value ecosystem of interconnected, collaborative and mutually beneficial actors along the whole recycling supply chain to increase the waste capacities of waste pickers, collection centres and up-cycling companies in Cartagena.
- to provide waste pickers with formal job recognition, safer working conditions, and negotiating power.
- to engage primary plastic-waste generators (hotels, shops, schools), disposal sites, recycling centres, buyers of recyclables, and consumer goods companies as part of a better coordinated, efficient plastics life-cycle.
- to develop a digital network that connects and educates waste generators, waste pickers and collection centres to improve waste collection, separation and processing capacities.
FUNDES is a non-profit consultancy that has helped 60,000+ mom-and-pop businesses —think bakeries, hardware shops, and beauty salons — put down roots and serve their communities.
Through public-private collaborations, FUNDES builds competitive, sustainable business ecosystems: small businesses connect with each other and with larger players — creating value for all.
In partnership with the Julius Baer Foundation, FUNDES has launched Reciclamos Juntos in Cartagena: an inclusive, safe, and profitable waste-collection and recycling network that connects people from diverse social and economic backgrounds with local businesses.
Throughout the partnership:
- 1200 college students
are receiving training in environmental stewardship and sensitivity to the working and living conditions of the waste pickers who play a pivotal role in local recycling.
- 750 stakeholders
including waste pickers, small-to-medium-sized businesses, recycling centres, and large corporations are connecting through FUNDES’ mobile app, Entre Redes, to optimise separation, collection, and processing of recyclables.
- 500 waste pickers
from vulnerable social groups are receiving training and tools to become professional recyclers.
- 240 waste generators
including mom-and-pop shops and larger enterprises, are forming a network of eco-friendly businesses, incentivised by credits disbursed as a block-chain empowered community currency, to sort their waste.
From an informal waste picker...
Even though waste pickers are carrying out hard work, they make a low, unreliable income and endure a low social status.
... to a professional recycler.
Fully trained, equipped and part of a formal and coordinated recycling association, waste pickers become recycling professionals with an up to 40% higher income and increased social mobility.
Become a Changemaker
You can increase the impact of FUNDES through donations, collaborations, partnerships and volunteering. Get in touch!
