The President of the Association of Scraps and Waste Pickers of Lagos State (ASWOL), Comrade Friday Oku, has called for global recognition, inclusion and protection of waste pickers, describing them as “the unsung heroes of climate action and circular economy sustainability.”
Oku, who represented Nigeria at the Fifth World Meeting of Popular Movements held in the Paul VI Hall, Vatican City, told delegates — including Pope Leo XIV — that informal waste workers continue to suffer neglect, insecurity and exclusion despite their crucial role in environmental protection and recycling.
He lamented that many waste pickers in Africa, especially Nigeria, have lost their livelihoods due to automation and exclusion from waste management policies, leaving them without homes, jobs or social protection.
“Without waste pickers, there is no circular economy. We are the backbone of recycling, yet we are criminalised, displaced and forgotten.
” We need dignified work, affordable housing and inclusion in national waste policies,” he said.
Oku also decried the harassment of waste pickers by law enforcement agencies and called for government support to formalise and integrate the sector through access to material recovery facilities (MRFs) and safer working conditions.
He thanked the International Alliance of Waste Pickers (IAWP) and the Vatican for providing the platform to amplify the voices of grassroots workers, pledging ASWOL’s continued solidarity with informal workers worldwide.
Meanwhile, Pope Leo XIV, addressing the delegates, reaffirmed that “Land, Housing and Work are sacred rights” and called for a renewed global effort to defend human dignity in the face of technological and economic exclusion.
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The Pope hailed popular movements as “champions of humanity and poets of solidarity,” and pledged that the Church will remain “a poor Church for the poor — one that reaches out, runs risks, and walks courageously with the people.”
The four-day global meeting (21–24 October) brought together delegates from every continent under the banner: “Land, Housing and Work,” to strengthen solidarity among grassroots movements working for justice, inclusion and sustainability.
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