Waste collectors and a just transition alliances for inclusion and the circular economy in Latin America

Integrated solid waste management is one of the main urban challenges in Latin America, particularly in vulnerable cities and neighborhoods where access to basic services, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability remain limited. In this context, waste pickers play a key role in the urban circular economy, yet they often operate under conditions of informality, labor precarity, and exclusion from urban planning processes. This event presents an existing South–South cooperation alliance between the experience of Bogotá, through the Special Administrative Unit of Public Services (UAESP), and the Bolivia’s Ministry of Productive, Rural and Water Development (MDPRyA). It aims to analyze complementary approaches for waste collectors integration into formal solid waste management systems, strengthening urban governance, promoting decent work, and advancing a just transition, in line with the NUA and SDG (8, 11, 12). The dialogue presents a holistic perspective on integrating waste collectors into integrated solid waste management, addressing national and municipal public policies, management models, organizational strengthening, and planning and monitoring tools. It focuses on the regulatory instruments and concrete initiatives that enable this integration, demonstrating how city-level experiences can be adapted and scaled up nationally through coordination between local and national governments. The exchange among local governments, national actors, and waste collector organizations highlights how inclusive urban services can improve living conditions, support the transformation of informal settlements and marginalized neighborhoods, and drive social, economic, and environmental development. The event will last 90 minutes and follow a sequential structure, moving from consolidated urban policy experiences to national scalability approaches and finally to applied dialogue on territorial implementation. The agenda includes: an opening session; a keynote presentation by UAESP Bogotá (virtual); a keynote presentation by MDPRyA Bolivia (in person); and a moderated dialogue panel bringing together national authorities and waste picker organizations. The session will conclude with closing remarks and key takeaways.