Due to the social stigma against this essential work in many communities, waste pickers are often some of the most economically vulnerable communities. And yet, as the informal waste management sector exists on the margins of the law, they face a lack of regulations to protect their work. Most work in landfills, where they are more likely to find recyclables but must endure difficult, often dangerous, conditions with little to no protective equipment.

In 2019, Gemcorp, or Gemini Corporation, began a recycling program to establish legitimate recycling within one of the world’s largest waste landfills, Deonar’s rubbish mountain. Gemcorp provides waste pickers, renamed as ‘reclaimers’, with recycling machinery to help scale their efforts, as well as safety and sanitation equipment. The main equipment that the company uses is commercial grade balers, which can help compress materials for easy storing, shipping or redistribution with more ease. The initiative also provides free healthcare at locally-run community centres for reclaimers and their families, as well as educational resources and games for the children of reclaimers. Gemcorp is supporting waste pickers by making provisions for clean drinking water, banning child labor and opening bank accounts for their new employees. To formalise the contributions of reclaimers, Gemcorp is also helping them to apply for legal identification documents, so that they become legitimate in the eyes of the authorities and they can qualify for governmental support.

Starting with just 10 reclaimer employees, Gemcorp has grown to uplift approximately five families a week, working with nearly 1,000 by 2022 with plans to expand this support to 2,000 reclaimers, eventually recycling over 100,000 tons of waste annually by 2024.