No Burn - Gaia Home
  • social
  • social
  • social
  • social
Join GAIA Donate
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Our History
    • Jobs
  • Our Work
    • Climate Justice
    • Zero Waste
    • Plastic
    • Incineration
    • Renewable Energy Storage
  • Our Global Community
    • Africa
    • Asia Pacific
    • Europe
    • Latin America & The Caribbean
    • United States & Canada
  • Going Zero Waste
    • Community Engagement
    • Production & Consumption
    • Smarter Infrastructure
    • Justice & Equity
    • Climate Resilience
    • Zero Incineration
  • Get Involved
    • Events
    • Join GAIA
    • Donate
    • Action Alerts
    • Get Our Updates
  • Tools & Resources
  • News & Alerts
  • social
  • social
  • social
  • social
Join GAIA Donate
  • Who We Are
  • Our History
  • Jobs
Address
1958 University Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94704 USA Phone: +1 510 883 9490 info@no-burn.org
  • Climate Justice
  • Zero Waste
  • Plastic
  • Incineration
  • Renewable Energy Storage
100s
of Zero Waste City commitments
14
movement-building alliances formed
  • Africa
  • Asia Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America & The Caribbean
  • United States & Canada
  • Community Engagement
  • Production & Consumption
  • Smarter Infrastructure
  • Justice & Equity
  • Climate Resilience
  • Zero Incineration
"The overlapping crises of our time present an opportunity to build more resilient cities by implementing zero waste models.
  • Events
  • Join GAIA
  • Donate
  • Action Alerts
  • Get Our Updates
Fact Sheets Reports Case Studies Campaign Tools Policy Briefings Webinar Recordings
Latest Resources
Managing Organics with Waste Pickers: A Briefing for Policymakers
- Climate - May 2026

Waste pickers play a critical role in climate action, methane reduction, and sustainable waste management, yet their contributions are often overlooked in public policy. This briefing from the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) highlights how integrating waste pickers into formal waste management systems can improve environmental outcomes, strengthen local economies, and advance environmental justice.

"Managing Organics with Waste Pickers: A Briefing for Policymakers," co-released by GAIA and the International Alliance of Waste Pickers, examines how waste pickers—estimated at 15 to 20 million workers worldwide—are increasingly leading organic waste management efforts. By diverting food scraps and organic materials from landfills, waste pickers help reduce methane emissions, one of the most potent greenhouse gases driving climate change.

The report provides recommendations for policymakers seeking to build inclusive, community-based waste management systems that support waste picker livelihoods while advancing climate and zero waste goals.

Download This Resource

  • Managing organics with waste pickers: Briefing for policymakers

Related Resources

Submission to the U.N. Human Rights Council Advisory Committee on the implications of plastic pollution for the full enjoyment of human rights
icon description
People stand and sift through a large pile of garbage at a landfill, with recycling and Gaia logos visible in the sky above left.
- Plastic - 15 May 2026

This submission details the myriad ways that plastic pollution violates human rights at every stage from extraction to disposal, and identifies the specific groups most impacted. The reader can also find proposals for how to address these human rights abuses through policy fora such as the Basel Convention and the plastics treaty, and regional and national policy, emphasizing an inclusive, Just Transition approach.

Download This Resource

  • GAIA submission UNHRC Advisory Committee - Plastic pollution - 15 May 2026
Views on the development of UNFCCC roadmaps for a Transition Away from Fossil Fuels in a Just, Orderly and Equitable Manner, and for Halting and Reversing Deforestation and Forest Degradation by 2030
icon description
- Climate - 31 March 2026

GAIA proposes the following material economy shifts as solutions for the roadmaps to deliver a Transition Away from Fossil Fuels in a Just, Orderly and Equitable Manner, as well as Halting and Reversing Deforestation and Forest Degradation by 2030:

-solutions to shift the material economy from single-use to reuse:

-a declining cap on plastic production;

-removing plastic polymer production subsidies;

-deploying reuse and refill systems;

-and, ending the burning of biomass and waste.

GAIA News Meet Our Members Action Alerts Events Press Releases
  • Latest News To Solve the Climate Crisis, We Must Solve the Plastic Crisis Zambia's First National Symposium for Waste Pickers on Plastic Pollution Call to Suspend the Asian Development Bank's Board Deliberations on the Energy Policy 2021
  • Upcoming Events Webinar: Creating effective systems for reuse Webinar: Are we getting closer to a circular economy in Europe?
interior On the Ground: Stories of Waste Workers and Waste Pickers in Asia (Volume 1: India) banner image

On the Ground: Stories of Waste Workers and Waste Pickers in Asia (Volume 1: India)

Asia Pacific - Waste workers and waste pickers

A publication highlighting the work and realities of waste pickers in India.

Download This Resource
  • On the Ground Stories of Waste Workers and Waste Pickers in Asia (Volume 1 India)
Related Resources
  • [MARATHI] On the Ground_Stories of Waste Pickers and Waste Workers in Asia (Volume 1)
  • [KANNADA] On the Ground_Stories of Waste Pickers and Waste Workers in Asia (Volume 1)
  • On the Frontlines: Waste Pickers in Asia
  • UNEA 5 Briefing Series: Plastic and Waste Pickers
  • Waste pickers in Times of Crisis
  • Inclusion of Waste Pickers in Zero Waste Programs
Our Work
Global Community
Donate

Stay Connected

Sign up for our Global Newsletter to stay up today on our cross regional work.

  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Our History
    • Jobs
    • Contact Us
  • Our Work
    • Incineration
    • Zero Waste
    • Plastic
    • Climate Justice
  • Our Global Community
    • Africa
    • Asia Pacific
    • Europe
    • Latin America & The Caribbean
    • United States & Canada
  • Going Zero Waste
    • Community Engagement
    • Production & Consumption
    • Smarter Infrastructure
    • Justice & Equity
    • Climate Resilience
    • Zero Incineration
  • Tools & Resources
    • Fact Sheets
    • Reports
    • Case Studies
    • Campaign Tools
    • Policy Briefings
    • Webinar Recordings
  • Get Involved
    • Events
    • Join GAIA
    • Donate
    • Get Our Updates
  • News & Alerts
    • GAIA News
    • Meet Our Members
    • Action Alerts
    • Press Releases

Asia Pacific

  • social
  • social
  • social

Africa

  • social
  • social

Europe

  • social
  • social

Latin America and The Caribbean

  • social
  • social
  • social

U.S./ canada

  • social
  • social
  • social
info@no-burn.org

@2026 GAIA. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy | Nonprofit Websites Design by Elevation