Since 1950, 8,300Mt of virgin plastics has been produced across the globe, generating 6,300Mt of plastic waste, of which 9% has been recycled, 12% incinerated, and 79% accumulated in landfills. Each day, 8MM pieces of plastic end up in our oceans. The plastic crisis disproportionately affects poor communities, who are also our frontline heroes collecting plastic waste for recycling as informal waste collectors. Our job is to support their efforts by investing in them and their families.
Globally, there are an estimated 10MM informal waste collectors working daily to address the waste issue including the plastic crisis. The crisis disproportionately affects poor communities, where most waste collectors also live. It also results in a network of informal workers who are poorly paid and poorly treated, where predatory lending, child labor, and crime are the norm, not the exception. This leads to very few investments made to improve the quality of material and livelihoods.
We partner with waste collectors in Haiti. In addition to building the capacity of the waste supply chain, we work directly with them to improve quality, income, and ensure essential needs are met. Our wrap-around program accompanies our collectors to access to medical care, education for their children, and professional development and business investment opportunities so collectors can earn a dignified wage.
Collectors are able to work themselves out of poverty forever and ensure their next generation has an opportunity to dictate their own futures. By providing access to medical care, we ensure health issues don't stand in the way of progress. An education enables our students to have opportunities for dignified work. Finally, professional development and business investment opportunities enable our parents the support they need to grow their business into one that supports a living wage.
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