Leave no one behind in your discussions including those involved in informal waste picking – Deo

The founder of Pacific Recycling Foundation, Mr. Amitesh Deo has strongly stated that any discussion on recycling should include all different sectors including private sector, recycling advocates and those involved in informal waste picking.

Mr. Deo who is also the Director and CEO of Waste Recyclers Fiji Limited said WRFL and PRF said they are saddened by the fact that even after so many years of operation, they are still struggling for relevance, even to be included in discussions that directly relates to them.

Mr. Deo said any discussion regarding recycling and waste management is of great interest to them, since this has been their core work for over 28 years.

“We represent different sectors of the recycling space and are the voice for those involved in informal waste picking. It is not possible to hold any discussion regarding recycling without the voices of the grassroots communities, especially those engaged in informal waste picking which mostly comprises of women and members of the LGBTQ+ groups,” said Mr. Deo.

Mr. Deo has also questioned whether some regional discussions on recycling is meant for those involved purely for commercial gains and not for organisations like WRFL which is involved for commercial reasons while also has a strong sense of ethics and social justice alignments.

“I’m calling on organisations planning to hold discussions on recycling to respect our principle of ‘Nothing About Us Without Us’, which is derived from the disability rights community and that is also part of our Pacific culture,” said Mr. Deo.