ILO and partners call for greener and more inclusive recycling systems on World Environment Day

The initiative promoted collective action to address plastic pollution while highlighting the need for safer work, greater inclusion and improved livelihoods for workers engaged in waste collection and recycling. ISLAMABAD – Stakeholders at a World Environment Day event in Islamabad called for stronger recycling systems that protect the environment while promoting safer work, greater inclusion and improved livelihoods for waste workers. The event was organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO), in collaboration with the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) and the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination (MoCC&EC), through a Sustainability Awareness Hike and Cleanup Campaign at Trail 5 in the Margalla Hills. Organized under the ILO’s Waste to Worth: Promoting Sustainability and Decent Work in the PET Recycling Value Chain project, jointly implemented by the ILO and United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) with support from The Coca-Cola Foundation, the initiative highlighted the importance of responsible waste management, recycling and the role of waste workers in advancing environmental sustainability. The event also brought together representatives from government, workers’ organisations, civil society, environmental groups and young people. Plastic pollution remains a major global challenge affecting communities, ecosystems and livelihoods around the world. In Pakistan, an estimated 3.12 million tonnes of plastic waste are generated annually, underscoring the need for stronger waste management systems and greater public awareness. Waste workers play a critical role in supporting recycling systems, recovering materials that might otherwise end up in drains, rivers, open spaces and landfills. Yet many workers engaged in waste collection and recycling continue to operate informally and often lack adequate occupational safety and health protection, stable incomes, social protection and representation, despite their essent