Vision and Grit: Exceptional Zero Waste Women in the Asia Pacific

There is no dearth of women environmental leaders in Asia Pacific. In the past decades, the region has become host to many impactful environmental initiatives and campaigns spearheaded by women leaders who not only dared to dream of a better future, but also rolled their sleeves up to ensure that the better future they dreamed of would become a reality.

But while there is general awareness that women play crucial roles in driving societal changes, exactly what they have done, and how massive their impact has been are often told sparingly, if at all. The spotlight is seldom shone on women leaders. And when it is, they are either made to share it with their male counterparts, or the spotlight shone upon them does not shine bright enough to adequately highlight their impact. 

Hence, this publication.

Vision and Grit: Exceptional Zero Waste Women in the Asia Pacific Region was conceived out of the realization that we have yet to truly take stock of the invaluable contributions of women leaders in Asia Pacific, particularly in the Zero Waste movement. It features 14 women leaders across the region whose initiatives have made a huge impact in their communities and have served as an inspiration for others to do the same. Because of their work, thousands of lives have been changed for the better, progressive policies and regulations have been instituted at various levels, enabling conditions for more sustainable options have been jump started, and Zero Waste models have been developed. Admittedly, so much still needs to be done at various fronts, but so much has also been achieved. Change is actually happening, and it is hugely thanks to our women leaders. 

Pore over the pages of this book and learn about some of the women who have helped make the world we live in a better place, and be inspired by their compassion, determination, and grit. Read their stories and understand their motivations, and be amazed and grateful that they stood up for what they believed in when they did, and continued the fight even when things were difficult. Our current realities may still be filled with challenges, but it is less so because women of character and strength live among us.

In 2012, the Drakenstein municipality signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Interwaste, a waste management company, to construct a municipal waste incinerator to address the municipalities waste issues.

The resistance to this municipal incinerator involved several key actors, this included the Drakenstein Environmental Watch (DEW), Wellington Association Against the Incinerator (WAAI), groundWork (gW), South African Waste Pickers Association (SAWPA), GAIA, community residents, vulnerable groups that
would have been affected by the project, water experts, engineers and legal clinics were just some of the agents that supported the resistance of the municipal waste incinerator.

Once faced with waste management challenges exacerbated by tourism, two communes in Hoi An, Vietnam — Cam Thanh and Cham Islands (Tan Hiep Commune) — have become the faces of Zero Waste through the collaboration of stakeholders from the government, community organizations, farmers’ associations, businesses, and tourism associations.

Waste pickers from South Africa, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, Morocco and Zambia have demonstrated the common need for official recognition from national and municipal governments, better working conditions, PPE, improved payment for their recovered materials and collection and processing service, and an end to social stigmatisation.

The experience of organising shows that these needs are achievable through building representative organisations that will ensure that their voices are heard in negotiations with governments and demonstrate their value to society.

This requires waste pickers to work collaboratively and embed the principles of democracy, equality and environmental justice in their organised structures. Furthermore, municipalities and national governments need to recognise the value that waste pickers play in diverting waste from the landfills, encouraging recycling where materials re-enter the economy and addressing poverty by providing an income for individuals that have been excluded from the formal economy.

Waste pickers from South Africa, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, Morocco and Zambia have demonstrated the common need for official recognition from national and municipal governments, better working conditions, PPE, improved payment for their recovered materials and collection and processing service, and an end to social stigmatisation.

The experience of organising shows that these needs are achievable through building representative organisations that will ensure that their voices are heard in negotiations with governments and demonstrate their value to society.

This requires waste pickers to work collaboratively and embed the principles of democracy, equality and environmental justice in their organised structures. Furthermore, municipalities and national governments need to recognise the value that waste pickers play in diverting waste from the landfills, encouraging recycling where materials re-enter the economy and addressing poverty by providing an income for individuals that have been excluded from the formal economy.

En el año 2005, la Asociación de Municipalidades para el Desarrollo Económico Local (AMDEL), de la que Santa Juana forma parte, trata la problemática de los residuos sólidos urbanos (RSU), concluyendo que cada comuna presenta una realidad distinta, surgiendo la necesidad de conseguir recursos para el estudio de la situación comunal.

San Andrés es una isla colombiana con una economía se encuentra dominada por el comercio y el turismo. Como ocurre en otras islas, tiene problemas de sobrepoblación y de espacio para la disposición adecuada de los residuos generados por los residentes y visitantes. En los años 2000 nace la propuesta de una solución mágica: quemar los residuos y producir energía. Pero durante una década la costosa instalación de incineración no funcionó y los residuos continuaron acumulándose en el vertedero que ya estaba al límite.

“Reciclaje sin recicladores es basura”. La frase, que resuena entre las organizaciones de recicladores de base – o “recicladores informales” – de América Latina y el Caribe, se vuelve indispensable a la hora de planificar cualquier política de manejo de residuos en una región donde se calcula que 4 millones de personas trabajan de la recoleción y procesamiento de materiales reciclables. En esta publicación se muestran ejemplos y brindan herramientas para quienes busquen diseñar políticas de basura cero en contextos donde existan recicladores informales.

Since 2004, Rwanda began a process of carrying out national bans to reduce the consumption and manufacturing of single-use plastic in the country. In contrast to polluting approaches like “waste-to-energy” incinerators and landfills, the approach to tackling plastic waste management entailed the enforcement of strong policies, which has reaped environmental, social and economic benefits.

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