Waste workers decry stigma and health risks, demand inclusion in national policies

Waste workers in Ghana are calling for greater recognition, integration and inclusion in national waste management policies, citing persistent stigma, serious health risks and limited institutional support for their work.

Speaking at a recent Waste Workers Dialogue aimed at shaping the formation of a National Informal Sector Waste Workers Alliance in Accra, Johnson Doe, Co-founder of the Green Waste Pickers Cooperative Society Limited and Africa Regional Executive of the International Alliance of Waste Pickers, described the daily challenges faced by informal waste workers across the country.

“Waste pickers or waste workers in Ghana face a challenge, and the most important one is the stigma on waste workers,” Doe said. “There is no respect for them. They always think we are criminals.”

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He explained that beyond social discrimination, waste workers are exposed to significant occupational hazards, including contact with hazardous liquids and unsanitary conditions, often without any form of health protection or training.

“We believe the authorities would have come into our aid to at least support us,” he said, calling for occupational health and safety training, capacity-building initiatives and mobile clinics to support waste workers who operate in high-risk environments daily.

Doe also stressed the importance of involving waste workers directly in policy discussions, particularly in relation to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policies and broader waste sector reforms.

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“Integration, recognition, and inclusion are key,” he said. “We want to speak for ourselves, not always people speaking for us.”

The dialogue forms part of ongoing efforts to establish a National Informal Sector Waste Workers Alliance, intended to provide a unified platform for advocacy, representation and engagement with policymakers.

Project Coordinator at GAYO, Mabel Naa Amorkor Laryea, underscored the urgency of forming the alliance, pointing to financial hardship and exploitation by middlemen aggregators as persistent challenges.

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“Most of the time, waste workers are cheated because they do not have people to talk for them,” she said.

According to Laryea, the alliance will prioritise fair compensation, improved working conditions and access to social protection. A draft framework is currently being refined based on feedback from waste workers operating at landfills, collection points and corporate environments.

The group also plans to present practical policy recommendations to government authorities. “We want to hear about the difficult problems they are facing that we do not see,” Laryea said.

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With thousands of waste workers operating nationwide, the proposed alliance seeks to formalise collective engagement without disrupting existing livelihoods.