By BBC Media Action
The central claim in Frames of War is that forces work within a society to deem some human lives real, actual, and worthy of preservation and yet others already forfeited. The question of what a life is becomes an essential one because certain lives are presented as unlived. However, in Butler's opinion, they fail to account for the shared condition of all human life, which is its precarious nature—an induced condition in which certain populations suffer from failing social and economic networks of support and become differentially exposed to harsh inequalities.
In 2020, when BBC Media Action took on the mandate to change perceptions about waste picking and waste pickers as part of the Collective Impact Initiative Saamuhika Shakti, learnings from Butler formed the guiding principles for exploring the precariousness of the lives of informal waste pickers in Bengaluru (referred to going forward as just waste pickers) and understanding how perceptions of them and their work on waste make their lives unlivable.
Learning from research
First, it was necessary for us to understand the social injustice and exclusion experienced by waste pickers.
Our formative research and baseline study showed that even though waste on the streets was visible and a concern, the humans behind the cleaning and waste management process largely remained 'invisible' to most respondents. When probed and directly asked, as many as 55% of the respondents described waste pickers as dirty. There was a strong sense of fear and repulsion, with 44% of people saying waste pickers should not be allowed in buildings/societies as they could steal.
This social discrimination by the public also stood out in our interviews with the waste pickers, as they themselves often avoid other people to escape harassment, encouraging their own 'invisibility' as a way of dealing with discrimination.
A theory of change
In her book, Judith Butler defines ‘frames’ as a mode of representation that is subject to moulding. From the findings of our formative research, it was clear that our task would be to ‘reframe’ the representation of waste pickers in the minds of people.
The work of waste pickers is seen as dirty and unskilled rather than something of value and critical to the functioning of the city. Their labour is seen as a waste of time, and their identity is perceived as ‘good for nothing,’ instead of acknowledging that the work of waste pickers contributes to the material and social well-being of society.
The change would be nudged by projecting waste pickers’ sense of self and self-worth, which has been denied so far, to create respect and recognition of the value of waste pickers and waste picking. It is the “denied humanity” of waste pickers that makes it necessary to make a plea for human recognition.
Specifically, it meant that interventions by BBC Media Action would work towards these four objectives:
From Invisible to #Invaluable
#Invaluables is a multi-phase, social media-led intervention targeted at the general population of Bengaluru, aimed at lifting the shroud of invisibility that cloaks informal waste pickers. Through this initiative, we hope people will journey from seeing waste pickers as ‘dirty’ to recognising them as performing important, skilled work that contributes to society and the environment – from invisible to #Invaluable.
The #Invaluables intervention began with a social experiment film featuring a popular actor, aimed at repositioning informal waste pickers as friends we didn't know we had. The social experiment probed people's notions of friendship and revealed that the informal waste pickers of Bengaluru personify all the traits of genuine friends. In the second phase, a data point (each year, waste pickers prevent an estimated 383,250 tonnes of waste from going into landfills) was turned into a song, “The Happy Number,” which positioned informal waste pickers as #InvaluableRecyclers and highlighted the different functions of a waste picker’s work.
Consequently, the first two phases of #Invaluables highlighted the work of waste pickers and promoted discussions around waste management and importance of their work amongst the general population.This positively impacted the key performance indicators by creating and reinforcing awareness of the category and evoking appreciation and recognition for waste pickers’ contributions to keeping Bengaluru clean. By bringing waste pickers into the limelight and using memorable lyrics coupled with peppy music, Happy Number, in particular, helped reinforce the key message of waste recycling and saving it from reaching landfills, thus helping the environment. This helped build empathy towards waste pickers and reframed their identity as “invaluable recyclers.”
In the third phase of #Invaluables, a 90 second Instagram reel by @AiyyoShraddha, a Bengaluru based content creator, went viral on Instagram! With humour laced with satire, the video educated people about proper waste disposal habits that could make picking and recycling waste a lot simpler and safer for waste pickers, or the #InvaluableRecyclers of Bengaluru. Nine out of ten audience members expressed appreciation for the reel in enhancing their understanding of the lives and challenges of waste pickers. Additionally, the reel encouraged the audience to follow the clear call to action—not stuffing plastic waste into bottles (43% of those who saw the reel reported they stopped doing this) and cleaning plastic food boxes before disposal/recycling (44% of those who saw the reel reported that they have started to wash the boxes).
Also, in the third phase, with the aim of fostering on-ground engagement, we designed ‘Coffee with Recyclers’—a series of curated conversations held at two business parks and four colleges/universities across Bengaluru. These events featured Kannada actor Bhoomi Shetty in conversation with individuals involved in waste management. The audiences gained a closer perspective on the lives of waste pickers, the skills required for their work, and the challenges they face.
In the fourth phase of #Invaluables, the idea of Coffee with Recyclers was adapted into online episodes, presented as a four-part series in partnership with Kalamadhyama, a popular Kannada YouTube channel. This novel and engaging approach effectively increased audience appreciation for waste pickers by providing a window into their lives beyond their immediate identity. The insights into their daily struggles and contributions to the ecosystem helped audiences develop a deeper sense of interconnectedness and concern for their needs. Instagram reels, used as support content, successfully garnered reach and engagement through short, simple messages promoting specific actions around paper waste (65% of respondents reported they stopped discarding paper by crumpling) and textile waste segregation (60% of respondents reported they stopped mixing textile waste with wet/dry waste).
Result and impact
In the first phase of Saamuhika Shakti, the #Invaluables initiative reached a total of 10.6 million unique people, garnering more than 30 million views on all video content. Analysis of comments received on social media shows that audiences had discussions about waste pickers, appreciating and thanking them for the work they do and the volume of waste that they stop from going to landfills. Several people also raised concerns about the health and safety of waste pickers and how they should dispose of sanitary and medical waste safely. Importantly, people also asked questions about locations of Dry Waste Collection Centres and if it’s possible for them to handover dry waste like plastic food containers and textiles at these centres.
Overall, in the first phase of Saamuhika Shakti, the #Invaluables initiative has created awareness of waste pickers and garnered appreciation for the work of waste pickers, encouraged both online and offline chatter about waste picker’s contribution and brought forth their work specificities and challenges that have helped slightly shift the metrics on empathy and identity reframing. The first phase has laid the groundwork for more sustainable waste management practices at the community level – driving home the point of ‘mindful disposal’ as a way to help waste pickers.
In the second phase of Saamuhika Shakti, the #Invaluables initiative will strive to be more consistent in content dissemination and engagement through the always-on brand (@invaluables.Bengaluru) and explore approaches and partnerships to sustain the brand as well as its impact.
