Data

General Issues
Labor & Work
Environment
Specific Topics
Worker Health & Safety
Waste Disposal
Recycling
Collections
Linking Participation and Economic Advancement
Location
Belo Horizonte
Brazil
Scope of Influence
Metropolitan Area
Files
ASMARE: Informal Waste Workers Engaging in Municipal Policy-Making (case study)
Links
http://www.wiego.org/sites/default/files/publications/files/Dias_WIEGO_PB4.pdf
http://www.wiego.org/content/associa%C3%A7%C3%A3o-dos-catadores-de-papel-papel%C3%A3o-e-material-reaproveit%C3%A1vel-de-belo-horizonte-asmare
Videos
Recycling Lives Through Trash in Brazil
Start Date
Ongoing
Yes
Time Limited or Repeated?
Repeated over time
Purpose/Goal
Make, influence, or challenge decisions of government and public bodies
Develop the civic capacities of individuals, communities, and/or civil society organizations
Approach
Social mobilization
Advocacy
Civil society building
Spectrum of Public Participation
Involve
Open to All or Limited to Some?
Limited to Only Some Groups or Individuals
Recruitment Method for Limited Subset of Population
Captive Sample
Targeted Demographics
Low-Income Earners
General Types of Methods
Deliberative and dialogic process
Collaborative approaches
General Types of Tools/Techniques
Facilitate dialogue, discussion, and/or deliberation
Facilitate decision-making
Specific Methods, Tools & Techniques
Cooperative Management
Public Hearing
Deliberation
Legality
Yes
Face-to-Face, Online, or Both
Face-to-Face
Types of Interaction Among Participants
Negotiation & Bargaining
Discussion, Dialogue, or Deliberation
Type of Organizer/Manager
Community Based Organization
Labor/Trade Union
Evidence of Impact
Yes
Types of Change
Changes in how institutions operate
Changes in civic capacities
Implementers of Change
Elected Public Officials
Stakeholder Organizations

CASE

The Empowerment of Belo Horizonte's Solid Waste Workers

General Issues
Labor & Work
Environment
Specific Topics
Worker Health & Safety
Waste Disposal
Recycling
Collections
Linking Participation and Economic Advancement
Location
Belo Horizonte
Brazil
Scope of Influence
Metropolitan Area
Files
ASMARE: Informal Waste Workers Engaging in Municipal Policy-Making (case study)
Links
http://www.wiego.org/sites/default/files/publications/files/Dias_WIEGO_PB4.pdf
http://www.wiego.org/content/associa%C3%A7%C3%A3o-dos-catadores-de-papel-papel%C3%A3o-e-material-reaproveit%C3%A1vel-de-belo-horizonte-asmare
Videos
Recycling Lives Through Trash in Brazil
Start Date
Ongoing
Yes
Time Limited or Repeated?
Repeated over time
Purpose/Goal
Make, influence, or challenge decisions of government and public bodies
Develop the civic capacities of individuals, communities, and/or civil society organizations
Approach
Social mobilization
Advocacy
Civil society building
Spectrum of Public Participation
Involve
Open to All or Limited to Some?
Limited to Only Some Groups or Individuals
Recruitment Method for Limited Subset of Population
Captive Sample
Targeted Demographics
Low-Income Earners
General Types of Methods
Deliberative and dialogic process
Collaborative approaches
General Types of Tools/Techniques
Facilitate dialogue, discussion, and/or deliberation
Facilitate decision-making
Specific Methods, Tools & Techniques
Cooperative Management
Public Hearing
Deliberation
Legality
Yes
Face-to-Face, Online, or Both
Face-to-Face
Types of Interaction Among Participants
Negotiation & Bargaining
Discussion, Dialogue, or Deliberation
Type of Organizer/Manager
Community Based Organization
Labor/Trade Union
Evidence of Impact
Yes
Types of Change
Changes in how institutions operate
Changes in civic capacities
Implementers of Change
Elected Public Officials
Stakeholder Organizations

Through community mobilization, Belo Horizonte’s ‘catadores’ self-organized, earning a formal role in government policy-making in the Waste and Citizen Forum and gaining ownership of recycling facilities.

Problems and Purpose

Informal workers in the solid waste sector, catadores, represent a large group of citizens in Brazil, including in the city of Belo Horizonte, the focus of this case. While initially excluded and persecuted by the municipality, the catadores, whose livelihoods depend on claiming saleable waste materials, are now highly organised and integrated within formal Solid Waste Management processes [1]. 

Background History and Context

From the 1960s onwards, poor people started earning a living by recycling waste found on the city streets or collecting waste materials from businesses. Working conditions were poor and the catadores’ contribution to waste recycling was not acknowledged. In addition to not having their rights recognised, the catadores were viewed as beggars and criminals and faced discrimination by most citizens. Most slept in streets to guard their recyclables due to lack of storage areas [2].

As catadores began to promote their right to earn a living from recyclables; a local NGO, Pastoral da Rua, saw the potential for them to organise and voice their priorities and demands. During the first administration of the Workers Party in the local government, officials sensitive to their cause and in some cases familiar with some of the groups and individuals came to power, creating an opening for the catadores to engage the municipal government [3].

Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities

Local NGO Pastoral da Rua facilitated the organisation of catadores, ultimately leading to the establishment of the association of catadores in 1990 [4].

Participant Recruitment and Selection

Participants are primarily made up of the waste workers, cooperatives and organizations that make up ASMARE.

Methods and Tools Used

Cooperative Management

What Went on: Process, Interaction, and Participation 

In 1993, the municipality signed an agreement with the Association of Waste Pickers recognizing the importance of these workers. As a result, in 2003 the Waste and Citizen Forum was created by bringing together the local government, representatives of catadores and local NGOs to air conflicts and reach agreements. It aimed at discussing guidelines for requesting financial resources and supporting activities [5].

Through the mobilization of the catadores, the municipality donated land for a plastic recycling plant, which opened in 2007. The plant is owned and managed by the catadores [6].

Building on the decision to include catadores, the city organized conversations with ASMARE in 1993, through which ASMARE contributed to the city’s new recycling program and assisted in its design. These consultations led to an integrated and mixed waste management system which included a formal partnership with ASMARE as the city’s preferred service provider, as well as other features such as a drop-off scheme and new sorting centers [7]. The agreement between ASMARE and the city included several key provisions from the city:

  • A monthly stipend for administrative costs;
  • Infrastructure for use by the catadores, such as containers and warehouses for sorting and storage;
  • Vehicles for the collection of recyclables; and
  • Education on the environment.

In the agreement, ASMARE was responsible for:

  • Managing the recycling warehouses;
  • Sorting and valuing recyclables; and
  • Providing information on recycling production to the city.

ASMARE also provides administrative and management support to its associate members, who are catadores. Members bring their recyclables to the warehouse and receive a receipt based on the weight of the material that they collect. The material is then sorted and processed at the warehouse and sold. Profit from the sale of recyclables is shared amongst the members [8].

ASMARE is registered as a legal association and functions internally as a cooperative. ASMARE’s associates (catadores) are employee-owners while their management representatives are also catadores. Furthermore, ASMARE and 22 other cooperatives have come together to form a network, Cataunidos. This collective of cooperatives further strengthens the negotiating ability of catadores in Belo Horizonte. Cooperative representatives participate in the Municipal Waste and Citizenship Forum, along with government officials, NGOs, and other stakeholders. The catadores used this forum in 2001 to organize a series of debates, seminars, and public hearings to discuss a proposed ban on catadores at the state’s new and/or upgraded dumpsites. This intervention resulted in the state’s adoption of a new resolution in 2003 requiring cities to create alternative jobs for waste pickers affected by dump closures and upgrades [9]. 

Influence, Outcomes, and Effects

The change from working in the streets with no organization into the semi-formality of associations supported empowerment, improvements in working and living conditions, and greater self-esteem; foundations for later development including a formal role in policy and ownership of recycling facilities [10]

Nowadays, catadores are formally recognized, with collective identity and greater self-esteem. The city has regulated informal recycling and has addressed some social issues of the urban poor. New warehouses have been provided with roof covering and equipped with kitchen, toilets, sorting boxes and a scale, improving working and living conditions. Improved safety and access to childcare have supported women’s inclusion (up from 18 percent to 55 percent) [11]. Challenges remain, including weak management capacity of the association affecting the reliability of collection and efficiency of the sorting of waste, and low use of safety equipment [12].

In terms of spaces for participation in decision-making processes, they were closed and then invited: initially the policy-making happened behind closed doors and informal workers were not recognized. Later, following pressure by the catadores through their association, the local government invited the catadores and their representatives to discuss policy interventions after receiving pressure from them [13].

Analysis and Lessons Learned

Once spaces had been opened through advocacy, there was a high level of cooperation between the government and the informal workers, which allowed catadores to push for specific policies [14].

See Also

Community Mobilization

Project "Bairro Limpo": Community Waste Management in Brazil

References

[1] Sonia Dias, Integrating Informal Workers into Selective Waste Collection: The Case of Belo Horizonte, Brazil (Online: WIEGO Policy Brief, May 2011), http://www.wiego.org/sites/default/files/publications/files/Dias_WIEGO_PB4.pdf.

[2] Dias, Integrating Informal Workers into Selective Waste Collection, 2.

[3] Dias, Integrating Informal Workers into Selective Waste Collection, 2. 

[4] Dias, Integrating Informal Workers into Selective Waste Collection, 2. 

[5] Dias, Integrating Informal Workers into Selective Waste Collection, 3.

[6] Dias, Integrating Informal Workers into Selective Waste Collection, 8. 

[7] Sabatino, C. (2017) Solid Waste Management Systems through Social Inclusion: the Case of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Washington DC: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, http://www.globaldeliveryinitiative.org/sites/default/files/casestudies/sabatino_delivery_note_belo_horizonte_4-24-17.pdf (Accessed 13 November 2019) 

[8] Sonia Dias, Integrating Informal Workers into Selective Waste Collection: The Case of Belo Horizonte, Brazil (Online: WIEGO Policy Brief, May 2011), http://www.wiego.org/sites/default/files/publications/files/Dias_WIEGO_PB4.pdf.

[9] Cooperatives Unit; Enterprises Department and International Labour Office (ILO) (2019) Waste Pickers’ Cooperatives and Social and Solidarity Economy Organizations, Cooperatives and the World of Work Series 12, Geneva: ILO, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---emp_ent/--- coop/documents/publication/wcms_715845.pdf (Accessed 13 November 2019)

[10] Sonia Dias, Integrating Informal Workers into Selective Waste Collection: The Case of Belo Horizonte, Brazil (Online: WIEGO Policy Brief, May 2011), http://www.wiego.org/sites/default/files/publications/files/Dias_WIEGO_PB4.pdf.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Ibid.

[13] Ibid.

[14] Ibid.

External Links

Associação dos Catadores de Papel, Papelão e Material Reaproveitável de Belo Horizonte (ASMARE)

CNN: “Garbage to gold: Brazil's catadores turn trash into art” https://www.cnn.com/2013/06/12/world/brazil-catadores-trash-treasure/index.html

Forbes: “No, Thank You. I Am Working: Brazil's Hands-On Environmental Solution” https://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2012/07/12/no-thank-you-i-am-working-brazils-hands-on-environmental-solution/#7584af5e116f

Notes

The first submission of this Participedia entry was adapted from a research project by the Institute of Development Studies, 'Linking Participation and Economic Advancement’ licensed and reproduced under Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0). Original source: https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/20.500.12413/15162