Inclusão pela confluência: a cooperação entre catadores autônomos e cooperativas

Abstract

Given the need to improve working conditions for waste pickers, increase recycling rates, and enhance the existing selective collection system, this study aims to deepen the discussion about the work of waste pickers who operate on the streets of the city, especially those who are not part of groups organized into cooperatives and associations. The proposal is to develop research that allows identifying the different interactions of waste pickers who are not part of cooperatives or the formal system, and to analyze how “bridges” can be built between cooperatives and waste pickers to change this reality. Since waste pickers play a crucial role in enabling recycling in Brazil, it is essential to develop systems that strengthen their role. Therefore, analyzing the contribution of these workers, together with cooperatives, can provide important elements to rethink and act towards increasing recycling, while also valuing the work of waste pickers. The research follows a social approach with an empirical basis, using action research and Grounded Theory to investigate the interaction between independent waste pickers and cooperatives. Its general objective is to make more evident the complexity of the work of waste pickers and their relationships with grassroots organizations, combined with interventions and the monitoring of the work of autonomous waste pickers, especially in the city of Belo Horizonte. The analysis of the interaction relationship between independent waste pickers and cooperatives, based on the cases studied, occurs in three ways: aversion, conflict, and collaboration. Cooperation between these two distinct groups can initially be developed through joint commercialization, seen as a common ground that favors this interaction and the construction of alternatives. Joint commercialization experiences are varied, and for this reason, they were analyzed based on the concept of "collaborative encounters" (Manzini, 2017). These encounters, promoted by joint commercialization, bring elements that can help to develop and improve experiences, based on the bond and commitment in favor of cooperation.