Research
& data
Learn more about the work of NAWPA, our affiliates and meet waste pickers in North America through the publications, research studies and media stories here.
Articles and papers
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Very little has been written on waste picking in North America compared to the global south. A lack of research and documentation, historically and now, contributes to the invisibility of the sector.
What research does exist shows that waste picking has a long history in both rural and urban North America. In addition to collecting and selling second-hand goods, waste pickers once collected rags to exchange for coal. Immigrants and people of color played a central role in formal and informal waste systems as recyclers and as owners of small recycling enterprises. Today, automation, global outsourcing and structural racism have made waste sector services that specifically support low-income individuals and communities rare.
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This collection of stories and articles shines a light on those who continue this work.
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The Other 3 Rs: Recognize, Respect and Reward
Upstream Solutions published this article in March 2026 about three NAWPA waste picker affiliates in North America who run recycling redemption depots. It explores the challenges and sheds light on why this work is so important.
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Recycling in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador: Depots as social enterprise
by Leslie Vryenhoek, 2025, International Alliance of Waste Pickers (IAWP) and Ground Score Association.
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Integration of waste pickers towards an inclusive circular economy: two case studies in Canada by Ana Castro, Jutta Gutberlet & Valdir Schalch. Conference paper: 7th South American Congress on Solid Waste and Sustainability, 2024.
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Towards a just transition to the circular economy: Analysing waste pickers’ integration in North America (2026) by Ana Maria Rodrigues Costa de Castro, Jutta Gutberlet, Valdir Schalch
(Sage Publications) examines NAWPA affiliates, whose activities directly involve hundreds of waste pickers and have collectively engaged more than 12,000.
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International Alliance of Waste Pickers (2023) IAWP’s Vision for a Just Transition for Waste Pickers under the UN Plastics Treaty.
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Cash For Your Trash: Scrap Recycling in America by Carl Zimring
In this 2005 book, Zimring provides a fascinating history of scrap recycling, from colonial times to the present, offering a cultural and economic portrait of the private businesses that made large-scale recycling possible.
Garbage Wars: The Struggle for Environmental Justice in Chicago by David Naguib Pellow
This 2002 book describes the politics of garbage in Chicago. He describes the tug of war among social movements, government, and industry over how we manage our waste, who benefits, and who pays the costs. Pellow, a sociologist, closes with suggestions for how communities in North America can work for environmental justice and safe, sustainable waste management.
The Dignity Bag
In this powerful short film, meet Alex, who gathers thousands of drink cans every week to recycle in Montreal. The film is 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.
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Statistics and Data
As in most of the world, governments in North America don’t collect official statistics or data on waste pickers in labor force surveys. Data is critical to understanding the contributions of waste pickers, to defining organizing strategies and to developing responsive, supportive policies. We have developed our own studies, and documented our methods to help other waste pickers’ organizations interested in collecting data on their sector.
Montreal, Quebec, Canada - 2021
Informal collection of beverage containers in Montreal and the Coop Les Valoristes: A rapid socio-economic livelihoods assessment
University of Victoria (British Columbia) in collaboration with Cooperative les Valoristes
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Portland, Oregon, USA - 2020
Ground Score (as part of the Informal Sector Small Equity Work Group) (Oregon, USA)
New York City, NY, USA - 2023
Independent Recyclers in New York City: Sector Profile and Pathways to Inclusion
Sure We Can (New York City, USA) - 2023
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Global - 2024
Statistics on Waste Pickers: A Case Studies Guide
WIEGO Statistical Brief No 39