Between waste, resilience: strategic role of waste pickers in climate crisis

RIO DE JANEIRO: (Mar 10) Amidst debates about how to mitigate the climate crisis, the fate of our waste is a crucial point. In Brazil, we recycle only 4 per cent of what could be reused. Even so, the main pillars of this chain are the waste pickers.

Although they are often made invisible, these workers numbered at least 800,000 people in the latest estimates from 2022 – a number that today likely exceeds 1 million.

It is estimated that around 90 per cent of recyclable materials that reach the industry have passed through their hands. They are the ones who make the circular economy possible in the country, even under conditions marked by informality, precariousness, and the absence of basic rights.