About
Waste Pickers
We are known by many names, but "waste pickers" is the globally accepted term for those who collect discarded materials like bottles and cans, scrap metal, or other materials that can be recycled or reused, and sell these to earn income. In North America many waste pickers redeem the materials they collect for cash under deposit return systems.
Millions of waste pickers work all over the world, and waste picking has deep roots in the North American region. Most are informal economy workers. Informal workers contribute to economies and communities, but have no legal or social protections through work.
Photo: Les Valoristes Coopérative de Solidarité,
Hugo Meunier
Photo: Les Valoristes Coopérative de Solidarité,
Benoit Taillefer
Even though waste pickers in North America lack proper recognition, compensation and support, our work offers many benefits.
Governments and industry depend on our labor. For example, states and provinces with legislated bottle deposit systems rely on our work collecting bottles and cans, especially in public places, to achieve high recycling rates.
Waste pickers' work protects the environment. We pick up litter in streets, parks and other public spaces, and recycling creates far fewer greenhouse gas emissions than making products from new materials.
We save public money by recycling bottles, cans and other materials that would otherwise end up in landfills.
We create our own jobs, which not only generate income but also provide meaning, purpose and community, often for people who have been shut out of the formal job market.
The Dignity Bag
Meet Alex, who gathers thousands of drink cans every week to recycle in Montreal. Walk with him in this powerful short film, part of the Dignity Bag Project developed by creative agency No Fixed Address in collaboration with working binners and Les Valoristes Coopérative de Solidarité.
The Dignity Bag not only helps waste pickers do their work more efficiently and safely, it helps give them the dignity they deserve.
The term "waste pickers" and other common terms
Waste picker is a global term, adopted at the First World Conference of Waste Pickers in 2008, and now used by the International Alliance of Waste Pickers (IAWP) and in some official statistics.
In North America, as in the world, preferred terms vary by place. Different terms are used to indicate the different types of materials workers are involved in collecting. In our region, common terminology is explained in the box below.
Type of waste picker
Terms used
People who collect and/or sort discarded, recyclable materials in places with bottle deposit systems, where these materials can be redeemed for cash. Canners, lateros (common US terms)
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Canners, lateros (common US terms)
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Binners (common term in Western Canada)
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Valoristes, ramasseurs (common terms in Quebec)
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Professional recyclers (common term in Newfoundland and Labrador)
People who collect materials (recyclable and non-recyclable) that others have thrown away, sometimes for redemption or sale, sometimes for personal reuse or consumption.
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Dumpster divers
People who collect metal waste for redemption or sale (outside of bottle deposit systems).
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Scrappers
People who collect only food waste for sale or consumption.
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Gleaners
Broad category for people who collect recyclable materials for redemption, reuse or sale.
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Independent recyclers, récupérateurs informels, recicladores independientes
