In addition to implementing direct programming that accompanies families living in and around landfill communities in Haiti, Taiwan, and Ghana, through our First Mile Program, we also transform the systems that they work in by ensuring that they are included and have a voice in it.

First Mile was designed to improve the lives and livelihoods of informal workers in raw material supply chains by transforming systems to be inclusive of all workers. Today, while about 60% of recycled raw materials in the products you buy are made from materials collected by hand, some of them by the families we serve, they have very little say in how much and how they are paid and what their working conditions should be. Our work changes that by developing and lifting standards for how they work and what they're paid - we call this our responsible sourcing standards.

What this looks like in Hyderabad and Mumbai, India is that two of the largest recycling facilities now have a responsible sourcing program in practice that places a standard for how workers are treated, materials are collected, and drives improvements to sub-par working conditions and pay.

In Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, Vietnam, our work brought traceability to the value chain, allowing workings to be identified, lifted, and for their greatest needs to begin to be addressed.

We learned from our recyclables collectors and center owners in Haiti that our voices are more powerful together and to be relentless about speaking up when something is not right. Globally, over 20 million informal waste workers are responsible for collecting over 27 million metric tons of plastic waste, effectively removing them out of the environment. We believe that this work must be recognized, valued, and dignified.