Webinar Series | Cooperation with the Informal Sector: Key Pillar to Successful EPR Implementation
Informal stakeholders play a vital role across the waste management chain, particularly in collection and recycling. As new regulations and systems such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) are introduced, it is essential to recognise and include these often vulnerable groups to ensure fair, effective, and sustainable outcomes.
The GAP for EPR webinar series explores how social inclusion can strengthen EPR systems. Bringing together diverse perspectives from experts and practitioners around the world, the series will examine practical actions, policies, and approaches that support equitable participation and shared benefits for all stakeholders, including informal waste workers and marginalised communities.
From January 2026, this series will explore the following key themes in concise 45-minute sessions:
- Strategies for involving informal and vulnerable groups in EPR schemes
- Best practices and innovative approaches to inclusive EPR policy design
- The role of social inclusion in effective waste management systems
To support comparison across countries and contexts, each session will also address:
- Legal considerations within the EPR framework
- Implementation options for Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs)
Session Schedule and Speakers
January
29 January 2026, 1PM CET
EPR without displacement: Strategies for a Just Transition in the Circular Economy
Yunus Environment Hub
Speaker: Christina Jäger
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February
9 February 2026, 9AM CET
Recognising and Integrating Malaysia’s Informal Recycling Sector: A Pillar for Effective EPR Implementation
PRO MAREA, Malaysia
Speaker: Roberto Benetello
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17 February, 9:30AM CET
Integrating the Informal Sector in Kenya with PAKPRO and CEJAD
Speakers: Mrs. Joyce Gachugi-Waweru, CEO PAKPRO & Griffins Ochieng, Co-Founder and Executive Director Kenya’s Centre for Environment Justice and Development (CEJAD)
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March
March 4th, 10 AM CET
Wastepicker integration into EPR: Closing the gap in human rights and living income for waste pickers through inclusive EPR legislation
Speakers: Charlene Collison and Rich Gower, Fair Circularity Initiative Secretariat
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April
April 28th, 2PM CEST
Integrating the Informal Sector in Brazil: The Reverse Logistics System
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May
May 20th, 4PM CEST
Collaboration with the informal sector for WEEE: How to create win-win situations in the reverse logistics chain
Speakers: Daniel Ott, Managing Director Latin America at the Reverse Logistic Group
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June
June 24th, 4PM CEST
EPR in Practice: Lessons from Waste Picker Organisations Around the World
Speakers: Luyanda Hlatshwayo from The African Reclaimers Organization (ARO), Soledad Mella from Asociación Nacional de Recicladores de Chile (ANARCH), and Pietro Luppi from the National Network of Secondhand Operators Association (Rete ONU)
The views and opinions expressed in this webinar do not necessarily reflect the positions of the core partners of GAP for EPR, nor of PREVENT Waste Alliance members or official policy positions of the international organisations and governments involved.