The waste sector is assumed to be gender-neutral, but gender inequalities and norms are embedded in almost every aspect of waste management. We see a division of labor in the waste sector based on conventional gender roles and stereotypes. Traditional gender roles dictate tasks: men could assume higher roles like recycling management, while women often handle menial jobs like waste picking, sweeping, and waste separation. Women are often excluded from higher-income and decision-making positions. When waste management formalizes, women are often marginalized and replaced by men, contrasting their active roles in informal settings.
Our work involves mainstreaming gender in the waste sector and strengthening the participation of women in the waste sector. With this approach, our work is leading to more efficient and effective waste management operations. As the primary users of waste management services at the household level and being engaged with various types of work in the waste sector, women have both knowledge and expertise. Women are vital agents of change in moving towards more efficient, sustainable and fair waste management. It is also important to bring men and boys, as well as women and girls, into the conversation, as gender is not just about women.
Solid waste is any non-soluble solid or semi-solid material that come from residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial activities. Examples of solid waste are;
- Agricultural refuse: Waste from agriculture
- Demolition waste: Waste from construction and demolition
- Industrial waste: Waste from industrial activities
- Mining residues: Waste from mining activities
- Municipal garbage: Waste from residential areas, including garbage and rubbish
- Sewage sludge: Waste from sewage systems
- Biomedical waste: Waste from human or animal research, including syringes, bandages, and infusion kits
There are types of solid waste that include
- Hazardous waste: Waste that poses immediate danger to people or the environment
- Refuse or municipal solid waste: Nonhazardous solid waste that needs to be collected and transported for processing or disposal
- Trash: Rubbish that includes bulky items like old refrigerators, couches, or tree stumps
Why gender matter in waste management
As the Ugandan population increases and resource use intensifies, so does waste. Cities and Municipalities around Uganda produces millions of tonnes of waste every year. Poorly managed waste is threatening human and planetary health. Anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions originate from the waste and wastewater sector. Yet proper waste management remains a significant challenge for municipalities and cities around the Country. Acknowledging the links between gender inequality and waste management will be key to creating a more sustainable and equitable waste sector. We work to address the challenges of gender inequality in waste management.
Gender inequality in waste management
The gendered division of labour in the waste management sector reflects traditional stereotypes of male and female roles in everyday life, which means it often goes unnoticed because it simply mirrors what is seen elsewhere. This is the “gender and waste nexus”, which refers to the gender inequalities in waste management that reinforce and even justify gender inequalities in society at large. Changing attitudes about gender norms through awareness-raising campaigns, training, and research to collect sex and gender-disaggregated data are crucial to addressing gender inequality in the waste sector.
The impact of waste on women
In many societies, women are traditionally responsible for managing household waste as part of their daily chores, meaning they have greater engagement with domestic waste management and waste management services. In the wider informal waste management sector, women are primarily found in the lower tier, working in waste picking and separating at landfill sites. At the same time, men dominate the higher-income and decision-making roles, whether as truck drivers, scrap dealers, repair shop workers, or in buying and reselling recyclables. This reflects the gendered division of labour in society but also means that women are often excluded when waste management activities are formalized, missing out on protections and benefits, such as social security or higher wages. As the waste sector modernizes and applies new technologies that may require greater education and training, it is essential that women are included in this process.
Creating Opportunities for women in waste management
As the primary users of waste management services at the household level and being engaged in various types of work in the waste sector, women have both knowledge and expertise, whose recognition can lead to more efficient, effective, sustainable, and fair waste management operations. One area where women can take an immediate leadership role is in the minimization and separation of household waste. It is also essential to promote and support women's voices, women’s leadership, and women’s agency in waste management.
Empowering women working in waste management systems
We play a leading role in research and as a convenor on gender and waste, producing factsheets, reports, and informative videos and conducting training, webinars, and other events. Through our research actions, we provide a detailed analysis of how gender inequalities and norms are embedded in almost all aspects of waste management. We provide policy suggestions to craft a more gender-responsive waste management sector. We develop a series of simple, accessible, and informative fact sheets focusing on healthcare waste, e-waste, and plastic waste
Addressing the pervasive impact of pollution on society
We work with women to take rapid, large-scale and coordinated action against air, land and water pollution. Our work highlights the impact of pollution on climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and human health. Through messaging, our campaign showcases how transitioning to a pollution-free planet is vital for future generations.
Rural gender perspectives and future policies on solid waste Management
Proper solid waste management is critical for sustainable environmental development. Despite high-level policy efforts and technical investments, unmanaged solid waste remains a problem in Uganda. The quantity of waste generated is increasing in rural areas due to increased population. However, most waste management actions have concentrated on urban areas. Also, missing in such actions is an understanding of the rural gender perspective in Sold Waste Management. We work to ensure that rural gender perspectives inform future policies and initiatives on Sold Waste Management. This is because, women solid waste workers are denied access to opportunities in solid waste management on the basis that it requires physical strength. Traditional gendered divisions of labour in solid waste management are not limited to the domestic space but also the public spaces. Policies to improve solid waste management should consider a gender lens. We conduct public education towards changing attitudes and stereotypes about gender norms and practices in sold waste management. This is because gender-disaggregated data and analysis across all aspects of the Sold waste management cycle are essential for developing sustainable policies and curbing gender inequalities.
Dignifying Lives of Women in Waste Sector
There are gender issues facing women in Uganda who earn a living from solid waste management in collecting rubbish from households and streets or in the recycling or reuse. As the urban population of Uganda continues to rise, the challenge of dealing with ever-growing volumes of solid waste is also increasing as well as concerns on the safety and well-being of women waste workers who are often on the front-line of providing much needed services to households and communities. Women and men play different roles in solid waste management. Women’s participation tends to be limited to jobs at the lower level of the chain including sweeping streets, apartments, markets, offices, and health centers; collection of mixed wastes and supporting their male partners to carry and dispose of waste in the bins/transfer stations. A few women are pick recyclable waste from bins, and help to sort and process wastes at plastic and organic waste recycling companies. As a result, women on average earn half that of men in the sector.
Addressing poor working conditions and risks women face in Waste Sector
Women mostly earn money as day labourers. They often lack protective equipment and many suffer illness or injury, but being unable to work means not being paid. They are also not part of insurance or savings schemes. Harassment by employers and law enforcement agencies and disrespect from communities are a regular part of their life. Women face particular risks. Street sweeping or cleaning of shops and offices often takes place at night or the early morning, and working in the dark leaves them vulnerable to harassment or abuse. They often lack access to toilets while they are working, and have not place to rest for a break. This can be even more difficult during menstruation or pregnancy when they may continue to have to deal with heavy workloads. These poor working conditions and inequalities for women remain overlooked. This is partly because women have low bargaining power as they participate and engage less in policy, planning, programming and decision-making by national departments, municipalities, recycling companies or other employers. The government of Uganda has developed 3R strategy (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle). However, when it comes to implementation, women’s issues have hardly been addressed at all; neither by national departments, development partners, cites and municipalities or NGOs working in the sector. There has been extremely weak or no co-ordination between organisations involved in women’s rights or labour rights, and the waste management sector.