WORLD AT WORK

Ragpicking

World at work: Brazilian ragpickers

M C da Silva¹, A G Fassa¹, C E Siqueira², D Kriebel²

¹ School of Medicine, Department of Social Medicine, Post-graduate Program in Epidemiology, Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil
² Department of Work Environment, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, USA

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Mrs M C da Silva
Post-graduate Program in Epidemiology, Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil, Av. Duque de Caxias, 250, Third floor, Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul 96030-002, Brazil; cozzensa@terra.com.br

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A job with contradictions: environmental stewards and exploited workers of the informal sector

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Keywords: ragpickers; informal jobs; occupational hazards; epidemiology

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Solid waste is an environmental concern throughout the world. The work of handling this waste involves diverse hazards, and is the focus of many prevention activities.^1–4 In Brazil, as elsewhere, the increasing consumption of goods has generated a huge volume of waste, raising questions about the impacts of inadequate collection and traditional waste disposal technologies on the health of workers, the public, and the environment.^5–7 Recycling presents many benefits, but like any new productive enterprise, its effects on those who do the physical labour must be weighed when assessing its full societal and environmental impact.

High unemployment, combined with proliferating amounts of solid waste, and a growing global market for recycled materials, have created the conditions for the rapid expansion of the work of collecting and selling trash. In Brazilian cities today, ragpickers (catadores de lixo in Portuguese) collect, separate, classify, and sell all types of recyclable materials. . . . [Full text of this article]

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This article has been cited by other articles:

• Frings-Dresen, M (2005). Protecting waste collectors all around the world. Occup. Environ. Med. 62: 820-821 [Full Text]