Scaling Traceability Innovation to Unlock the Value of Informal Waste Management

This paper focuses on traceability innovations that transform informal waste work into verified, transparent supply-chain steps, making material flows and labour conditions visible from the first point of collection onwards.

For corporate buyers seeking verified recycled content, recyclers aiming to level the playing field through transparent sourcing, policy-makers designing effective incentives and enforcement, NGOs addressing labour and human rights, and investors evaluating opportunities in this emerging space, this paper shows what is possible today and presents a roadmap for achieving scale, fast.

While each stakeholder brings distinct motivations, everyone committed to genuine change needs the transparency that traceability systems can provide. By turning today's concerns into the design principles for tomorrow's systems, they can reveal the complete journeys of materials and people and fast-track the systemic change the world demands.