Scaling Traceability Innovation to Unlock the Value of Informal Waste Management

The document examines the critical role of informal waste pickers in emerging markets, who recover an estimated 88 million tonnes of recyclables annually but remain invisible to formal supply chains. It highlights how digital tools—including AI, blockchain, and digital wallets—can provide verifiable data on material flows and labour conditions to unlock economic value and ensure a just transition. The report provides a practical evaluation framework for decision-makers to choose between different business model archetypes (SaaS, marketplace, and vertical integration) and proposes a 'leapfrog' strategy toward a shared digital infrastructure to overcome data fragmentation.

• Informal waste management systems in emerging markets operate at a scale that exceeds formal collection in Europe, recovering approximately 88 million tonnes of recyclables annually compared to Europe's 76 million tonnes.
• Waste management infrastructure gaps in emerging countries are severe, with an estimated $680 billion required for development; currently, over 80% of waste in Sub-Saharan Africa and nearly 80% in Central and South Asia is uncontrolled.
• Post-consumer recycled (PCR) feedstock serves as a primary lever for traceability because corporate sustainability goals and regulations, such as the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), mandate minimum recycled content.
• Traceability innovations are utilizing AI to combat fraud in waste collection; for example, Cleanhub's 'AI auditor' identifies fraudulent reporting by detecting identical dust patterns in photographs of plastic bales.
• Different business model archetypes for traceability offer distinct trade-offs: Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provides transparency but faces adoption barriers; Marketplace models provide market access but struggle with quality consistency; and Vertical Integrated models offer end-to-end control but are capital intensive.
• Social innovations in traceability are being used to protect human rights, such as Banqu's method of correlating waste picker working times and volumes with school attendance to detect child labour.
• The report proposes a 'leapfrog idea' to move from fragmented, proprietary platforms to a shared digital infrastructure—a 'digital public common'—to enable interoperability and network effects across the value chain.

APA

World Economic Forum (2025). Scaling Traceability Innovation to Unlock the Value of Informal Waste Management. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Scaling_Traceability_Innovation_to_Unlock_the_Value_of_Informal_Waste_Management_2025.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Scaling Traceability Innovation to Unlock the Value of Informal Waste Management. 2025. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Scaling_Traceability_Innovation_to_Unlock_the_Value_of_Informal_Waste_Management_2025.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Scaling Traceability Innovation to Unlock the Value of Informal Waste Management |date=November 2025 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Scaling_Traceability_Innovation_to_Unlock_the_Value_of_Informal_Waste_Management_2025.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2025scaling, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Scaling Traceability Innovation to Unlock the Value of Informal Waste Management}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2025}, month = nov, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Scaling_Traceability_Innovation_to_Unlock_the_Value_of_Informal_Waste_Management_2025.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }