Reciclagem de rua: os catadores de rua e a coleta seletiva informal

Abstract

Recyclable waste pickers are urban workers who use waste from the consumer society to subsidize a productive process internal to the urban economy. Some collectors found in the formation of cooperatives and associations a model of work organization with better conditions and income. Other scavengers work in the streets, forming an activity outside the space of Associations and Cooperatives and not recognized by the public power. The increase of people in the street collecting recyclables and the limitation of the current model of inclusion are problematic aspects that need to be analyzed. The objective of this work is to discuss the strategies of this group of workers who work in the informal selective collection on the streets of the city of Belo Horizonte. The thesis defended here is that there is no single path to inclusion, we must collectively construct alternatives that guide dialogue and cooperation beyond the walls of cooperatives and associations. The methodological course used for data collection was carried out through participant observation, ethnography, course of action and Grounded Theory. This path allowed a greater approximation of the subjects and a more immersed understanding of their practice. The results show a significant diversity of the activity and different configurations of the work of street scavengers and that they are not excluded, since they are integrated into the recyclables market informally. Street scavengers and organized scavengers are part of a production system that performs activities that complement each other in a fundamental link in the recycling chain. In this way, the research was able to bring relevant issues to discussion about the street scavengers from their own experience and with the diversity of the work is sought diversity of ways for cooperation among the actors.