The work carried out by solid waste collectors at the Aurá Dumpshot: The influences of neoliberalism on the production chain of recyclable materials

Abstract

The importance that solid waste collectors have in the recycling production chain is inversely proportional to the working conditions to which these professionals are subjected. In Pará, countless collectors still search for solid waste in the so-called Aurá dump - deactivated since 2015 -, a place whose environment is unhealthy and whose work is conducted without the use of any Personal Protective Equipment. The Aurá collectors claim that they have no other source of subsistence other than the landfill. Given this, the following problem arises: how can the living and working conditions of these collectors be improved without this requiring them to remain at the dump? To answer this question, the work will use bibliographical research with a qualitative approach. The research aims to demonstrate how the neoliberal system contributes to the terrible living and working conditions of these workers. In the end, the work concludes that, for these conditions to be dignified, public policies are necessary that grant a basic income to these workers and that encourage the entry of these professionals into solid waste cooperatives.