There is a growing concern in Brazil and in the world about solid urban waste, especially from a sustainability perspective. Due to the accelerated global development in the twentieth century, waste management has great... [ view full abstract ]
There is a growing concern in Brazil and in the world about solid urban waste, especially from a sustainability perspective. Due to the accelerated global development in the twentieth century, waste management has great magnitude in the economic, social and environmental spheres. Most of the effective waste management is carried out by recycling and all the sectors included in this process. In the Brazilian reality, the recycling process is facilitated by the recyclable material collectors who participate in the logistics between the collection of the post-consumer waste and its receipt by the recycling industry. Also, even though these collectors are the main responsible for recycling in the country, they are the less benefited in the recycling chain. In addition to the depreciation in their remuneration, they are still the targets of prejudice and lack of recognition for their economic and environmental roles. The federal legislation dealing with waste collectors and recycling cooperatives reinforces the collector’s importance and requires the implementation of selective collection programs at the municipal level, and reverse logistics systems by the private sector. However, recycled materials commercialization is hampered by the marginalization of waste collectors, lack of economic valuation of the collected material and non-application of the relevant legislation. In this context, the present study intends to identify the socioeconomic profile of recyclable waste collectors in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, aiming to provide scientific content and visibility on the subject, as well as to serve as a basis for optimization of the national recycling chain, or countries with similar backgrounds. To do so, during 2016 a structured questionnaire was applied, where qualitative information was gathered from collectors of 9 cooperatives of recyclable materials. From this data, it was detected that the collectors who gathered in cooperatives are workers coming from dumps or from the street and that the average income of cooperatives is R$5,822.33, being divided by 9 people approximately. It was also detected that 60% of these recyclable material collectors are women and 71% only have incomplete elementary school education. Although all leaderships are practiced by women, gender pay inequality exists and is marked by the fact that men receive an average of R$ 457.22, while women receive R$ 435.00. In this way, it has been observed that gender equality is another problem in this social sector. Thus, the present study indicates that the recyclable waste collector’s category work under precarious working conditions, with remuneration below the national minimum wage, lack of basic school education, social and gender discrimination. In a nutshell, it is considered fundamental to promote the social insertion and appreciation of these workers improving their working conditions and implementing instruments to guarantee the continuation of the category in the recycling production chain in a dignified way, with educational and professional qualification and in the gender equality matter, under the premise of the Sustainable Development Goals.
