GRID-Arendal, in partnership with Tearfund, WIEGO and the International Alliance of Waste Pickers (IAWP), will collaborate in a new project – Just Transition Unlocked: Strengthening and Transforming (JUST) policy frameworks to stop plastic pollution and marine litter through waste pickers’ participation and locally-led leadership, and focuses specifically on women. The project is supported by Norad through its development programme to reduce plastic pollution and marine litter.
A Collective Voice to Call for Change
Globally, 20 – 40 million waste pickers recover up to 60 % of plastic collected for recycling. They play a unique and vital role at the forefront of efforts to mitigate plastic pollution and marine litter, particularly in developing countries where the capacity of formal waste management systems is low.
However, there remains a striking lack of research that recognises and builds on the role of waste pickers, and less than 1 % of waste pickers are organised into associations or cooperatives that can enable their collective voice to call for change.
The project is planned to run September 2026 to June 2029, and will focus strengthening and transforming policy frameworks in Kenya, Ghana and Indonesia, and global level frameworks, through centering the locally-led leadership of waste pickers.
“JUST was shaped by the priorities our affiliates in Kenya, Ghana and Indonesia set out themselves, and it puts waste pickers where we belong: at the negotiating table. Over the next three years, we will push for EPR systems that recognise our work, social protection and finance that reach waste pickers, especially women, and a just transition article in the Global Plastics Treaty. There is no recycling and no circular economy without waste pickers, and there can be no just transition without us.”
— Severino Lima Jr, President, International Alliance of Waste Pickers (IAWP)
Why It Matters
By connecting change from the local to the global level, JUST aims to demonstrate that tackling pollution and advancing social justice can reinforce one another—contributing to a healthy and equitable planet where both people and nature can thrive.
The consortium is made up of GRID-Arendal, Tearfund, WIEGO and the International Alliance of Waste Pickers (IAWP). By building an evidence base for inclusive finance and social protection mechanisms that can actualise waste picker rights, scalable ‘fit for purpose’ models to implement these approaches will be developed in partnership with waste picker organisations (WPOs).
Drawing on the evidence base, and enabled by increased waste picker institutional capacity, policy recommendations for advancing waste picker rights will be developed. As a result, WPOs will be enabled to influence policy and decisionmakers across all levels of governance in the public and private sector, collaborating with consortia members. At the regional level, the project will work to create an enabling environment for strengthening national frameworks and driving South-South cooperation.
At the global level, consortia partners will jointly influence the Global Plastics Treaty to embed waste picker rights. The consortia will also influence private sector actors to uphold waste picker rights through the Fair Circularity Initiative at the national and global level. A Global Just Transition Platform (GJTP) for waste pickers inclusion in policy frameworks will also be established to align national and regional just transition strategies with global plastic governance processes.
Supporting Norway’s Priorities
Project JUST directly supports the Norwegian development programme’s main objective of reducing plastic pollution and marine litter in developing countries by embedding the rights and locally led leadership of waste pickers – especially women – at the heart of systemic change. By combining evidence generation, policy influencing, and private sector engagement, the project ensures that waste picker rights are recognised, protected, and advanced as part of a just transition to a circular economy.
“Norad’s support is an important recognition of GRID-Arendal’s work and of the role we can play in turning environmental knowledge into practical change. This investment gives us the opportunity to deepen our work on plastic pollution and just transition, while working closely with partners and communities to connect local realities with policy and decision-making. For GRID-Arendal, it is both a strong vote of confidence and a responsibility to deliver lasting impact.”
— Karen Landmark, GRID-Arendal
“Tearfund is delighted to be partnering with Norad and consortium partners to drive an inclusive and just transition. At the heart of this programme is waste picker participation in the policy making processes which affect their lives and livelihoods – essential to achieving the best outcomes for both human rights and the environment. This programme is a crucial opportunity to leverage momentum across private sector and public spheres to shape the future of the circular economy, centering the workers who form the backbone of this system.”
— Sam Perriman, Tearfund
Our Transformative Approach
JUST seeks to work collaboratively with waste pickers, embedding their recognition as workers, knowledge holders, partners and leaders whose experience should shape the policies and systems affecting their livelihoods across the sector. The project combines evidence, organising, policy influence and systems change.
Press release on our website: https://www.grida.no/press_releases/512
Illustrating pictures: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gridarendal/albums/72157679838315218/
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For press inquiries, please contact press@grida.no.
About GRID-Arendal
GRID-Arendal is a non-profit environmental organisation dedicated to driving systemic change for both people and planet. With 35 years of experience, we transform scientific knowledge into compelling narratives and actionable insights to address the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. We collaborate closely with UNEP, the Norwegian government, and a global network of partners, serving as a trusted intermediary between science and policymaking.
About IAWP
The International Alliance of Waste Pickers (IAWP) is a global union of waste picker organisations in more than 38 countries. Led by waste pickers themselves, IAWP defends their rights as workers, advocates for their recognition and inclusion in waste management and recycling systems, and brings their collective voice to global policy spaces, including the negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty and the Fair Circularity Initiative.
About WIEGO
Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) is a global network focused on securing livelihoods for workers in the informal economy, especially women. Founded in 1997, WIEGO brings together organisations of informal workers, researchers and development practitioners to improve statistics, advance research, and support informal worker organisations, including waste pickers, in their efforts to gain recognition, rights and a voice in the policies that shape their work.
About Tearfund
Tearfund is a relief and development agency and a member of the Disasters’ Emergency Committee. Founded in 1968, Tearfund has been working around the world for 50 years responding to disasters and helping lift communities out of poverty. For more information about the work of Tearfund, please visit www.tearfund.org
