20.1
Published onFor the definition of the assigned category and the development of the assessment, the responses to the following information requests were taken into account:
Ministry of Human Capital
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xQZX1b5I2X_OagYI3tMREgJnbNOkapyG/view?usp=drive_link
Undersecretariat of Environment (Waste Directorate)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13QJjifhG4tv9rYcZT5NujZliKaO3WTtR/view?usp=drive_link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12KMzw1IYPMQCriQJX4EsnFdk8vdARWJi/view?usp=drive_link
Further information:
According to the national environmental authorities, Social Inclusion Plans (PISO) have been developed under various Integrated Municipal Solid Waste Management (GIRSU) projects. These plans provide for censuses of waste pickers, training activities, the establishment of working groups and the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE). Progress was also made in implementing three Environmental Centres with sorting plants and complementary facilities, including childcare spaces for the pre-school-aged children of waste pickers, located in Formosa, Concordia and Villa María. In addition, the implementation of new PISO has been planned and initiated under the following projects: GIRSU Santiago del Estero–La Banda: planning and launch; GIRSU Luján: continued implementation, including censuses of dumpsite waste pickers and urban waste pickers, and mapping of informal collection routes; GIRSU General Alvarado: initial planning and meetings with municipal stakeholders and waste pickers; a census was conducted jointly with the provincial environmental team.
In parallel, PISO are under development for projects at the detailed design stage in several territories: Chascomús; the Andean Region of Chubut (Lago Puelo, El Hoyo, Cholila, Epuyén and El Maitén); the Atlantic Coast of the Province of Buenos Aires (Madariaga, Villa Gesell, Pinamar and Mar Chiquita); the Pico Truncado, Caleta Olivia and Las Heras Region (Santa Cruz); Tierra del Fuego (Ushuaia, Tolhuin and Río Grande); the Reconquista Consortium (Santa Fe); Region 10 of Chaco (Resistencia, Puerto Vilelas, Barranqueras and Fontana); the Unión and Marcos Juárez Departments (Córdoba); the Llanos Norte Region (La Rioja); the Norte II Region (Salta); Aluminé (Neuquén); San Rafael (Mendoza); and the city of San Luis.
Argentina Recycles Programme
2022 and 2023 ReNaTEP Reports (National Registry of Workers in the Popular Economy)
https://www.argentina.gob.ar/sites/default/files/2022/04/informe_-_renatep_-_abril_2022.pdf
FIRST ANALYSIS OF THIS OBJECTIVE CONDUCTED IN AUGUST 2025
Category
Early progress
Detail
According to the information obtained, between March 2022 and March 2023, the labour and social conditions of 1,145 waste pickers across 12 provinces were surveyed under the Argentina Recycles Programme. The response from the Undersecretariat of Environment also indicates that the Social Inclusion Plans linked to GIRSU projects provide for censuses of waste pickers, with implementation initiated in Santiago del Estero, Luján and General Alvarado. However, no consolidated total of waste pickers surveyed as of 2025 or future projections was reported.
Until 2023, the National Registry of Workers in the Popular Economy (ReNaTEP) allowed waste pickers to register voluntarily under the category of “recovery, recycling and environmental services”. However, there is no specific national registry for surveying the labour and socio-environmental conditions of waste pickers using standardised criteria, including operational definitions, mechanisms to prevent double counting, reporting frequency and minimum content requirements. This prevents progress from being verified and compared across jurisdictions. Neither the Argentina Recycles Programme nor ReNaTEP is currently active. In the absence of an active national initiative and with only partial data available, there is no evidence of a sustained trajectory of progress. The assigned category is “Early progress”.