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View all search resultsFormalizing ‘pemulung’ toward humane waste system
The informal sector plays a major intermediary role at every stage of waste management, from neighborhoods to landfills.
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lastic waste and waste management has become increasingly more prominent in both global and national discourses. Conversations have taken place from high-level forums, such as the United Nations Climate Conference, the World Economic Forum, to the desks of investment bankers, country leaders, national and subnational governments, as well as people in remote areas, to understand the environmental and health impacts of plastic waste.
The Indonesian government has set an ambitious 2025 target to reduce waste by 30 percent, waste handling by 70 percent and plastic marine debris by 70 percent.
Discussions are also moving from conceptual to actual. The circular economy, for instance, is being implemented through means such as integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) indicators for businesses, regulating and implementing extended producer responsibility (EPR) and creating online platforms for collecting recyclable materials.
Everyone seems to agree that transformation toward efficient and effective waste management is imperative.
However, truly transforming the waste management system requires pinpointing and designing solutions for the nodes that are crucial, but often overlooked. One such node is informal workers, mainly pemulung (waste pickers) who provide a crucial role in waste collection, sorting and recycling.
The informal sector plays a major intermediary role at every stage of waste management, from neighborhoods to landfills. A recent study by Unilever and Sustainable Waste Indonesia shows that waste pickers collect 83 percent of the plastic waste in Java, while around 3.7 million people work as waste pickers.
Despite their vital role in society, pemulung are often overlooked and face a precarious work environment. They are the first to be exposed to the adverse environmental and health impacts of waste management, and yet are frequently perceived as a social problem. They are often prevented from entering residential areas to collect waste and provide early sortation in the waste stream.
