What Life Is Like For 20 Million Waste Pickers | World Wide Waste Marathon | Insider Business

Globally, an estimated 20 million informal waste pickers are responsible for more than half of all plastic waste collected. Now, a 30-year fight for fair wages and legal protection has culminated in these workers’ first international union. This video explores their essential role in how the world handles trash. 00:00 Intro 01:10 Landfill Pickers In Indonesia 10:37 Collecting Metal From Old Ships 22:18 The Children Working In Delhi’s E-Waste Market 27:50 Earning A Living Off A Flaming Landfill 38:28 Hunting For Deadly Explosives In Afghanistan 47:56 The World’s First International Waste Pickers Union 51:41 Credits Editor’s note: An earlier version of this video misidentified Lucia Fernandez’s title. She is the General Secretary of the International Alliance of Waste Pickers, not the Secretary General. Also, we misidentified a videographer as “Mateo Fernandez.” His actual name is Mateo Vazquez. MORE WORLD WIDE WASTE VIDEOS: How People In Gaza Turn Trash Into Cash How The World’s Largest Paper Company Makes 1/3 of Cardboard Boxes In America How Disney’s Magical Trash Tubes Ended Up In New York City ------------------------------------------------------ #insiderbusiness #worldwidewaste #trash Business Insider tells you all you need to know about business, finance, tech, retail, and more. Visit our homepage for the top stories of the day: Insider Business on Facebook: Insider Business on Instagram: Insider Business on Twitter: Insider Business on Snapchat: Insider Business on TikTok: @businessinsider 20 Million Workers Sort Our Trash. Now They’re Unionizing World Wide Waste | Insider Business