Question

what is the important of rag pickers and junk dealers to keep our surrounding clean

Answer 1

hi ......
the importance are:
1. first of all, they help in keeping the surrounding neat and clean and good looking...
2. they help in the process of recycling...
that's what i know...
hope it helps you.

Answer 2

Coming from the poorest of the poor, rag-pickers are highly stigmatised and often looked down upon as beggars or scavengers. But this unorganised band of labourers, most of whom come from backward classes and are not recognised either by society or institutions, play a vital role in keeping our cities clean.
"Through research, we realised that rag-pickers play a vital role in cleaning waste, particularly plastic on the streets," says Vinod Shetty, director of ACORN Foundation and the man who piloted The Dharavi Project.

Large piles of waste are often found on beaches, outside colonies, schools, colleges and offices. Mumbai's civic body, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), does collect garbage, but it does so only from dustbins. The waste on the streets, under vehicles, bridges and in mangroves are ignored by the BMC, and this is where the rag-picker steps in.
"It is very important to understand how rag-pickers fit into the chain. They collect trash and sell it at meagre prices to local bhangaar walas," he explains, adding that they walk around the city on foot as they cannot afford any transport. Instead, ACORN collects the trash from institutions and gives them to rag-pickers who work in sheds to help recycle and reprocess.
Recycle, reuse, respectACORN has partnered with schools, colleges and corporate offices. Stressing on the need to respect rag pickers, Shetty says, "We show them videos and put forth the dire need to recycle. We are thus given access to the dry garbage of these institutions and we collect it and take it to our shed, where our rag-pickers start reprocessing it."
Virgin plastic contains poisonous chemicals which prove to be hazardous to the environment, since it contaminates water and air. But what if we stop producing new plastic and recycle and reuse old plastic? "People need to understand the significance of recycling and reusing plastic, so we can stop making new products," Shetty says.
Stepping it upWhen the foundation is not busy creating awareness, it is involved in giving the children of rag-pickers the education they tend to lose out on. The focus is on children, since they are the future of this city and country, he says. "We educate these children of different age groups to help them get out of the vicious circle of rag-picking and ultimately come out of poverty."
The BMC has now stepped in to help rag-pickers, Shetty discloses. "The government has finally given orders to the civic bodies to recognize these rag-pickers, by giving them identity cards and helping them set up an organised body