Understanding the Waste Picker Living Income Gap to Strengthen Circular Value Chains (Americas/Europe)

Webinar

January 22, 2026

8 - 9 am EST

Waste pickers are essential to global recycling systems and circular value chains, but their contributions remain largely undervalued. Many face persistent barriers to earning a living wage and achieving an adequate standard of living.

Join the Fair Circularity Initiative (FCI), Systemiq, and local NGO partners as we unveil global research that examines how earnings compare to local living income benchmarks across three types of waste pickers, multiple countries, and a mix of waste materials. Our findings show that waste pickers in nearly all locations earn below the estimated living income, leading to food and housing insecurity, and other human rights impacts.

Grounded by case studies from Brazil, Colombia, and Vietnam, this session will outline key insights and recommendations for how companies can take action to close waste picker living income gaps and promote fair, inclusive circular economies.

Scheduled Speakers

Charlene Collison, Director, Collaboration, BSR

Director, Collaboration, BSR

London

As Director, Collaborations, Charlene develops and implements strategies to engage BSR member companies and other stakeholders in high-impact collaborations for sustainable development. She specializes in building collaborative approaches between consumer-facing companies and their value chains to embed long-term sustainability, build resilience in the face of disruption, and increase equity, inclusion, and justice.

Charlene brings over 20 years of experience in sustainability, systems change, futures, and collaboration. Prior to BSR, Charlene was associate director for sustainable value chains and livelihoods with global sustainability non-profit Forum for the Future, where she directed collaborative system change initiatives in cotton, tea and other commodities, and led strategy projects with partners across the fashion and textile, agricultural and food sectors.

Charlene has an extensive background in futures, including working with the UK government’s futures unit developing and testing strategies across government departments.

Charlene holds an MSc in Sustainability and Responsibility from Ashridge Management College (UK), a BA in International Relations from the University of Puget Sound (US), and a Diploma in Organisation Development from Henley Business School (UK).