Across the Global South, millions of women in the informal recycling sector recover valuable materials, helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions, prevent plastic leakage, and fill an essential public service gap. This work often is unrecognized. Yet while attention has increased to women’s role in the circular economy and just transition discussions, there is a fundamental question we need to address: How do we strengthen women´s capacities to participate safely, confidently, and more effectively in informal waste management systems?
To enable this, GRID-Arendal, together with ISWA’s Women of Waste and Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat (KKPKP), developed the Awareness and Capacity-building for Women of the Informal Recycling Sector – Toolkit for Facilitators. Rather than providing a one-off training package, the toolkit offers a comprehensive methodology that enables organisations to design, adapt and deliver participatory learning programmes tailored to local realities. Adaptable to all countries in the Global South, it combines technical knowledge with leadership, confidence-building, occupational health and safety, gender equality and business development within a single facilitation framework.
The toolkit is designed to help organisations, local authorities, civil society groups, and community leaders strengthen knowledge, promote safer practices, and support more inclusive and equitable waste management systems.
In this webinar, we introduce the toolkit and help you understand how to deliver structured, practical, and adaptable capacity-building programmes for women working in the informal recycling sector. We will also explore what pilot implementation efforts look like in Nepal and Kenya.
Get Answers to these Questions:
- What types of knowledge, skills and leadership opportunities do women recyclers identify as priorities?
- How do participatory and gender-responsive learning approaches differ from conventional training activities?
- What opportunities do governments, NGOs, and development partners have to integrate capacity building into future initiatives?
Who Should Attend this Webinar:
- Nonprofit professionals
- Government professionals
- Professionals working towards gender equity
- Waste management and circular economy professionals
- Researchers and other academics