City Desk<\/p>\n
ISLAMABAD: Stakeholders at a World Environment Day event in Islamabad called for stronger recycling systems that protect the environment while promoting safer work, greater inclusion and improved livelihoods for waste workers. The event was organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO), in collaboration with the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) and the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination (MoCC&EC), through a Sustainability Awareness Hike and Cleanup Campaign at Trail 5 in the Margalla Hills.<\/p>\n
Organized under the ILO\u2019s Waste to Worth: Promoting Sustainability and Decent Work in the PET Recycling Value Chain project, jointly implemented by the ILO and United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) with support from The Coca-Cola Foundation, the initiative highlighted the importance of responsible waste management, recycling and the role of waste workers in advancing environmental sustainability. The event also brought together representatives from government, workers\u2019 organisations, civil society, environmental groups and young people.<\/p>\n
Plastic pollution remains a major global challenge affecting communities, ecosystems and livelihoods around the world. In Pakistan, an estimated 3.12 million tonnes of plastic waste are generated annually, underscoring the need for stronger waste management systems and greater public awareness.<\/p>\n
Waste workers play a critical role in supporting recycling systems, recovering materials that might otherwise end up in drains, rivers, open spaces and landfills. Yet many workers engaged in waste collection and recycling continue to operate informally and often lack adequate occupational safety and health protection, stable incomes, social protection and representation, despite their essential contribution to the circular economy.<\/p>\n
Geir Tonstol, Country Director of ILO Pakistan, emphasized the importance of linking environmental sustainability with decent work. \u201cPlastic waste is not only an environmental challenge. It is also a livelihoods issue. Behind every bottle collected and recycled are workers whose contribution helps keep valuable materials in circulation and supports a cleaner environment. A green transition cannot be truly sustainable if it leaves workers behind. Strengthening recycling systems must go hand in hand with improving the safety, inclusion and recognition of the workers who make them possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change, Ms. Romina Khurshid Alam, highlighted the importance of recognizing waste workers as key contributors to environmental sustainability and Pakistan\u2019s transition towards a circular economy. \u201cWaste workers are essential environmental actors. If we want cleaner cities and a stronger circular economy, we must build systems that value their contribution, protect their dignity and ensure that recyclable materials are recovered responsibly,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The event featured an awareness hike and cleanup activity along Trail 5, distribution of personal protective equipment and waste collection bags, a symbolic handover of a three-bin waste segregation system, and a tree plantation activity aimed at encouraging environmentally responsible practices.<\/p>\n
The Waste to Worth: Promoting Sustainability and Decent Work in the PET Recycling Value Chain project supports environmentally sustainable and socially responsible plastic waste management in Islamabad. By strengthening PET recycling systems, promoting occupational safety and health, encouraging waste segregation and recycling practices, and advancing the inclusion of waste workers, the project seeks to contribute to a cleaner environment while creating safer and more decent work opportunities in the recycling sector.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
City Desk ISLAMABAD: Stakeholders at a World Environment Day event in Islamabad called for stronger recycling systems that protect the environment while promoting safer work, greater inclusion and improved livelihoods for waste workers. The event was organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO), in collaboration with the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) and the Ministry […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":63536,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[1027],"class_list":["post-63535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-national","tag-world-environment-day"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyspokesman.net\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyspokesman.net\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyspokesman.net\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyspokesman.net\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyspokesman.net\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63535"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyspokesman.net\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63535\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63537,"href":"https:\/\/dailyspokesman.net\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63535\/revisions\/63537"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyspokesman.net\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyspokesman.net\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyspokesman.net\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyspokesman.net\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}