Waste Picker-Led Solutions for Climate and Health: A Participatory Epidemiological and Methane Monitoring System for Waste Management, Methane Reduction and Worker Health

This research, led by the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) in partnership with Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar (UASB), RENAREC and RedLacre, investigates the intersection of climate mitigation, health equity, and informal labor in Latin America. Waste pickers play a crucial role in reducing methane emissions through source separation and recovery, yet face high occupational exposure and exclusion from formal waste systems. This project pilots a participatory epidemiological and methane assessment system in three Ecuadorian cities—Quito, Portoviejo, and Coca—each representing a distinct waste picking modality: street-based, dumpsite-based, and green center-based. The study integrates community-led health assessments, bespoke methane modelling, satellite-based methane observations, and localized policy analysis to evaluate the impact of waste picker-led solutions. Key outputs include: a co-designed health monitoring toolkit, genotoxicity and psychosocial risk profiling, methane emission estimates, and scalable models for decentralized organics management. The project will inform climate policy by demonstrating how informal recycling mitigates methane and advances health justice. Keywords: waste pickers, methane emissions, participatory epidemiology, environmental justice, informal labor, decentralized waste systems, genotoxicity, urban health, circular economy, climate mitigation, Latin America.