Collaboration with diverters

The Diverters’ Foundation

The Diverters' Foundation is a registered not-for-profit society, created in August 2020 in Victoria, British Columbia. The membership of The Diverters' Foundation consists of waste diverters (also known as binners or waste pickers).

The mission and work of the membership is supported by a core group of volunteers.

Community Based Research Lab is honoured to collaborate with them on several key projects.

Building on previous work that highlights the key role of Diverters — Victoria’s locally organized waste pickers — in driving Circular Economy flows, Katya’s research in connection with the Community Based Research Lab (CBRL) at the University of Victoria explored the potential impact these actors could have on advancing holistic sustainable development within Victoria’s local food systems.

The study included interviews with representatives from industry, municipal government, and non-profit organisations, as well as a solutions-based focus group involving Diverters and members of the Food Share Network, to evaluate the feasibility of integrating Diverter services into Victoria’s food recovery web. The research found that Diverters are best positioned to address a transportation niche within food redistribution systems, thereby enhancing the resilience and flexibility of regional food diversion programs as well as demonstrating the innovative potential of collectivised waste pickers.

Equally significant were the broader socio-cultural benefits that were found to be associated with the implementation of such an initiative, which indicate that Diverter involvement in food recovery could foster greater inter-organizational collaboration; encourage sharing economies; improve public education; as well as legitimise, destigmatize and make visible waste picking work — ultimately contributing to greater community cohesion. Complementing previous studies conducted within the CRBL, this research underscores the importance of empowering and including waste pickers within Circular Economy transitions to (co)create waste management systems that are not only environmentally sustainable and economically profitable, but also socially regenerative.