(cest2017_00557) Waste Sorting Social Technology in Brazilian Informal Materials Recovery Facilities

摘要

It is commonly accepted that the recycling andreuse of solid waste materials in developing countries hasthe potential to create many social, environmental andfinancial benefits. Given that the majority of recycling inthese locations is carried out informally by waste pickers,it is also recognised that their inclusion into formal serviceprovision could be the most efficient way of maintainingand increasing the recycling rates of a city. In the absenceof sophisticated equipment, the informal recycling sector(IRS) has developed a wealth of self-taught knowledge andskills for manually identifying and processing wastematerials. Using primary and secondary data gathered froma materials recovery facility (MRF) in Belo Horizonte,Brazil, this study describes the so called 'socialtechnology' techniques used to sort municipal wastematerials by a cooperative of informal sector recyclingworkers. This involves identifying and separating 17 typesof plastic polymers by visual and tactile sorting skills. Themethods presented are compared and contrasted withmanual sorting techniques used mainly in the near past inthe UK. To conclude, the study discusses whether thesetechniques provide a viable method for increasingrecycling rates at scale in the Global South.