A SIGNIFICANT number of children in Pakistan participate in waste-picking for economic survival. Our legal framework, unfortunately, is inadequate in this respect and unable to protect and rehabilitate the children. With rapid urbanisation and population growth, waste generation is growing, overwhelming municipal managements. An estimated 49.6 million tonnes of solid waste is generated in the country each year, according to the 2024 ITA Pakistan Country Commercial Guide. Waste generation is increasing by over 2.4 per cent annually.
The lack of an efficient waste management system allows individuals to control waste picking and recycling with minimal government oversight. This leads to the exploitation of children, exposing them to severe health risks, malnutrition, and hazardous working conditions.
With limited formal recycling avenues, an informal sector has developed. Children as young as five years take part in waste-picking, and are often seen with large jute bags slung over their shoulders. They rummage through heaps of trash, searching for items that can be repaired, recycled, or resold, such as paper, cardboard, bottles, syringes, broken glass, cutlery, metal scraps, plastic, and wood.
They sell these items to waste collectors known as ‘raddiwala’ or ‘pheriwala’. The recyclable items are then sold to the local kabaria (scrap dealers), who sort and clean the materials before selling them to junkyard owners or factories.
Children as young as five rummage through trash.
Although precise data on the number of children engaged in waste-picking in Pakistan is lacking, their participation is a widespread and visible reality. The majority come from impoverished and marginalised backgrounds, and include Afghan refugees, minorities, and migrants.
Pakistan’s only Child Labour Survey was conducted in 1996 and revealed that 3.3m children were involved in labour. The findings of another survey have yet to be published for all provinces and regions, except Gilgit-Baltistan and Punjab. The absence of updated data makes it difficult to implement effective remedial policies.
According to Census 2023, Pakistan has a large young population, with 36.47m children under five years, 97.53m under 15 years, and 62.58m individuals aged between 15 to 29 years. Alarmingly, 36pc (25.37m) of children aged five to 16 don’t go to school. Of these, 79pc never attended school and 21pc dropped out. The lack of updated child labour data, combined with the high number of out-of-school children, shows how the state has ignored the seriousness of their plight.
Since waste-picking is an informal system, the children lack legal protection and often fall outside labour and child protection laws. According to a 2023 ILO report, 69pc of children involved in waste-picking can’t read or write. Some 88pc of them began waste-picking aged between five and 10 years. On average, the children earn between Rs200 and Rs500 per day.
Most (82pc) reported facing physical violence and abuse. Many have also endured emotional abuse and verbal mistreatment, expressing fear of police actions and social stigma. More than 67pc of the children are unaware of available social protection programmes.
The Constitution forbids employment of children under 14 and guarantees free and compulsory education for all aged five to 16. Following the 18th Amendment in 2010, labour and child protection were devolved to the provinces.
However, waste-pickers are independent sellers, not employees of junkyards. Therefore, they fall outside the Labour Department’s scope, making them ‘invisible’ to labour inspections. They are rarely recognised as child labourers despite their hazardous work.
Still, waste-picking is mentioned in the Punjab Destitute and Neglected Children Act, 2004, (amended in 2017), under Section 36B, which prohibits inciting children to engage in rag-picking. Further, certain laws such as Section 2(c) of the Sindh Child Protection Authority (Amendment) Act, 2021, provides protection to ‘street children’. While ‘waste-picking’’ is not explicitly mentioned, it is relevant since many street children collect and sort waste. Other provincial laws are silent on explicitly addressing the problem, leaving a legal gap in the protection of children.
While social protection programmes such as BISP help poor families, in order to combat child waste-picking, the provinces and Islamabad Capital Territory must explicitly provide protection to young waste-pickers in child protection laws. Labour laws should be amended to regulate recycling while supporting waste-picking communities with protection, fair wages, and occupational safety and health measures. Additionally, education, vocational training, and rehabilitation programmes will help children transition to safer livelihoods.
(Opinion) Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2025
