Responsible Business in Plastics Recycling Supply Chains: Action in Africa

Background 

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An estimated 40 million informal waste sector workers and waste pickers play a critical role in plastics collection, contributing to nearly 60% of global recycling efforts. Despite this, their contributions are overlooked, and they are vulnerable to human rights issues including inadequate pay, child labor, and health risks. Recognizing and collaborating with informal waste sector workers is essential to solving the plastic pollution crisis and increasing the supply of recycled materials.

 

Businesses in turn have an important role to play in addressing human rights issues in the value chain, including reporting on social and environmental risks and meeting the growing demands of regulators.

This session will cover the role of value chain actors in implementing responsible sourcing and in turn, protecting the rights of waste workers. Case examples from on-the-ground projects of the Responsible Sourcing Initiative (www.thecirculateinitiative.org/responsible-sourcing-initiative/) will be discussed, including the signifi cance of utilizing a single and comprehensive framework to measure responsible sourcing practices. The session will open with one-two short movies (approximately 10 minutes) showcasing real-life stories of waste pickers.

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Key Objectives
 

• Provide an understanding of the informal sector landscape and the journeys and challenges of waste pickers

• Highlight the role of businesses in implementing inclusive responsible practices and due diligence in their supply chains against the backdrop of stringent reporting and regulations

• Showcase diverse and multi-stakeholder perspectives to understand the unique roles and interplay between value chain actors

• Present the Harmonized Responsible Sourcing Framework for Recycled Plastics

• Discuss pathways towards solutions that protect the rights