The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) wants the integration of informal waste workers in the solid waste management chain.
“The informal waste workers remain excluded from the solid waste management value chain, yet their work is indispensable and forms the very backbone of a supply chain that advances environmental sustainability,” DENR Secretary Raphael Lotilla said.
“Faced with the growing weight of plastic pollution, we must build stronger partnerships that turn our environmental goals into tangible results that benefit all sectors, protect all ecosystems, and uplift all communities,” he added.
The agency’s Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) is now undertaking activities to formally integrate the sector in the country’s solid waste management through strengthened policy support and targeted training programs to promote social inclusion and provide them with alternative livelihood.
This year, the DENR-EMB will provide grants for weighing scales to 50 junk shops in Quezon City to support waste recovery and recycling, connect workers to larger markets and enterprises where they can support obliged enterprises under the Extended Producer Responsibility Act of 2022 or Republic Act 11898.
The informal waste workers will also receive training in organizational buildout, business planning and financial literacy to support sustainable livelihoods.
The sector includes waste reclaimers, itinerant waste buyers and small junk shop operators, who recover and recycle significant amounts of waste materials that help reduce landfill dependency.
The lack of integration into the formal waste management systems leaves them vulnerable to social welfare benefits and limits their economic opportunities.
While Republic Act 9003 (Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000) provides the legal framework for solid waste management, it does not yet establish clear protections or governance structures for the informal waste sector.
Workers from the informal waste sector are more exposed to hazardous materials, putting them at risk of respiratory illnesses, infections and injuries, and that they are vulnerable to inadequate social welfare benefits, limiting their economic opportunities.
The DENR-EMB seeks to build a waste management system that is not only environmentally sustainable but also socially just, ensuring that those who contribute to waste recovery and recycling receive the recognition and support they deserve.
