Integrating the Informal Waste Economy: A Pathway to Inclusive Circular Value Chains in India
(Source Credits: Plastics For Change)
In India, an estimated 1.5 to 4 million people work in the informal waste sector; over 70% of them are women. These women are the backbone of urban waste management, often starting their day before sunrise, walking miles to segregate and collect plastic, glass, and other recyclables without recognition, dignity, or safety.
Despite their critical role in preventing pollution and enabling recycling, most waste collectors live on the margins of society. They face hazardous working conditions, irregular incomes, and lack access to basic services like healthcare, financial credit, or social security. Stigma and discrimination only worsen these challenges, especially for women.
But what if this informal system, so vital, yet so undervalued was given the support and structure it deserves?
The Case for Formalizing Informal Labour in Circular Supply Chains
As Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations and global ESG standards evolve, the need to build traceable, inclusive, and socially responsible supply chains is more urgent than ever. However, most waste management solutions to date have been infrastructure-heavy and tech-first, often overlooking the human infrastructure at the base of the pyramid.
There is a growing need to integrate informal workers into market-based circular value chains, where interventions are designed around:
Fair Trade Principles: Ensuring price premiums, dignified work conditions, and democratic participation.
Social Impact Measurement: Quantifying improvements in income, health, and resilience for waste collector communities.
Supply Chain Traceability: Leveraging blockchain and digital platforms to ensure transparent material flows and ethical sourcing verification.
Gender-Inclusive Livelihoods: Addressing the double burden borne by women waste collectors and enabling access to credit, leadership, and entrepreneurship.
Collaborative Interventions: The Plastics For Change × Garnier India Model
Since 2022, our partnership with Garnier India (a L'Oréal brand) has created a replicable model for socially inclusive circular economy:
900+ metric tons of ocean-bound plastic recovered through ethically verified supply chains
15,983+ informal waste workers integrated into dignified, traceable recycling channels
Implementation of Fair Trade Plastic Standards, financial inclusion pathways, and decentralized material recovery networks.
This initiative is aligned with UN SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) demonstrating how brand-led circularity can create measurable impact at scale.
Field Case Study: Radha’s Entrepreneurial Transformation
Radha spent over a decade in the informal waste economy working long hours for inconsistent pay, facing exposure to hazardous waste, and navigating exploitation by middlemen.
(Source Credits: Plastics For Change)
Today, Radha is the first woman entrepreneur in her community’s recycling network.
Through capacity-building programs, access to a formal buyer network via our platform, and support from the Garnier partnership, Radha transitioned from an informal collector to an entrepreneur. She now leads a localized collection enterprise employing other women, benefiting from stable pricing, digital payments, and ongoing business mentorship.
Her transition represents a successful upward mobility pathway from survival wages to value chain ownership.
Scaling Inclusive Circular Economies: What’s Next?
Radha’s story is a proof point. With the right enabling conditions, informal waste collectors can become central stakeholders in the circular economy. But this requires:
Policy alignment between EPR mandates and informal sector inclusion
Corporate procurement strategies that prioritize ethically sourced recycled content
Outcome-based investments that track social returns alongside environmental ones.
The next frontier in sustainability clearly needs to be a combination of both material recovery and it’s human recovery. Circularity cannot be considered sustainable unless it is inclusive by design.
Let’s reimagine plastic waste as a lever for inclusive growth. Let’s scale the impact that dignifies labour.
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