At CleanHub, we support improved dignity and living standards for people working along the waste streams, especially the lowest paid. We are committed to social justice alongside environmental protection.
Some of our results to date (that we continue to monitor) include:
> 200
jobs made safer
≈ 170,000
households serviced through our waste collection
2,466,562 kg
plastic recovered
Last updated: 4 April 2023
'In helping improve waste worker livelihoods we actively help remove social bias historically associated with waste collection.'
Joel Tasche ·
Co-founder & CEO CleanHub
We work with a network of local, often grassroots, waste management organizations across South East Asia. We call them Collection Hubs.
Together, we bring waste collection systems to coastal regions where they don’t yet exist. This is how we drive our change.
It’s about dignity, empowerment, and fairer chances for all.
CleanHub prides itself on investing in deep worker human rights conditions assessment baselines and continuously engaging on the ground to support real social impact. We endorse improving livelihoods by helping drive Sustainable Development Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth.
Our Social Assessing and Engagement Work with our Collection Hubs looks at five areas:
1. Legal Compliance
2. Work Safety and Work Environment
3.Labour Standards Compliance
4. Attendance Management
5. Environmental Safety
We guide our partners on the ground towards compliance with our international industry standard code of conduct.
In this impact story series, we shine a light on the real heroes of our mission for a cleaner planet and better lives for communities in the Global South: the humans who work along the waste streams in the countries we operate in.
'Don’t chase your dreams - find a way to make them come true.'
What's it like to grow up here and witness the destruction of its coral reef and marine life? When your family's livelihood depends on fishing but 25% of fish caught are contaminated with plastic? What would you do?
Kim Heng Chau: 'My Life without a childhood'
Chau Kim Heng is the founder and director of our plastic collection partner COMPED (Cambodian Education and Waste Management Organisation) in Phnom Penh.
Understanding Ocean Plastic Pollution
Geetu has been living in this region her whole life but didn't understand the complexities of ocean plastic pollution until she attended an awareness class.
We are passionate about environmental and social change. Our Operations Officers and Social Impact Auditors on the ground are crucial in engaging our partners on social standards and helping guide improvement.
Lakshmi Menon, Head of Impact - India
'The sector is largely immature, stakeholders are still learning the need for hygienic working conditions, safety, and best practices. There is a huge lack of knowledge, insufficient funding, and poor management.
I tackle these issues with expert advice to increase the social impact needed.'
Rizal Ratulangi, Operations - Indonesia
'Exploitation of labor is rampant in Indonesia. You don’t need to look very hard to find egregious violations of workers’ rights. Every employer has the obligation to provide decent workplace standards and proper labor benefits. I want to ensure that each Collection Hub we work with fulfills and sustains those obligations for all their employees.'
Kate Larsen, Social Impact Auditor
'When I’ve spoken to workers, their greatest request is just that their boss pays them better. Improving wages for the lowest paid is one of the best ways we can help improve lives and deliver social justice and change. It’s inspiring to work on this with CleanHub.'
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where it's needed most
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