FIGHTING POVERTY AND PROTECTING THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT: THE REFUSE COLLECTORS OF RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
| Date | 01 October 2012 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/pad.1616 |
| Author | Rogerio F. Pinto,Maria Scarlet Do Carmo |
| Published date | 01 October 2012 |
FIGHTING POVERTY AND PROTECTING THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT:
THE REFUSE COLLECTORS OF RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
†
ROGERIO F. PINTO
1
*AND MARIA SCARLET DO CARMO
2
1
International Consultant
2
EBAPE, FGV Projetos, Brazil
SUMMARY
This paper reviews and documents a unique approach to poverty reduction targeting a segment of urban poor in the city of Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil: the collectors of recyclable materials discarded by urban residences and businesses, along with their refuse.
The approach is unique for Brazil because it combines assorted policy objectives at different governmental levels, two socially/
security valued, two environmentally valued and one economically valued. The paper specifically seeks to (a) determine the
current profile of collectors, both social and economic; (b) assess the current state of play of the dwindling collectors
cooperatives programme, including perceptions of its performance by different stakeholders; (c) describe the current practices
and players in the collection of recyclables, with its associated implications; (d) reconstruct the role of key players with a focus
on the operational policies and administration of the programme by municipal departments; (e) assess the current priority among
social and environmental objectives of the waste collection programme of the municipal government; (f) draw conclusions and
recommendations on policies and administration for such programmes, to improve the social outcome for the collectors while
still achieving the associated environmental objectives; and (g) draw some comparisons with other Latin American countries
that have engaged in similar programmes. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
key words—collectors; recyclers; urban poverty; urban environment; sanitation
INTRODUCTION
Fighting poverty requires a wide range of approaches fitting the equally wide range of targeted poor. Poverty
reduction interventions by national and local authorities and the policy objectives driving them often compete
among themselves, having unintended consequences, some desirable, others not.
This article reviews and documents a unique approach to poverty reduction targeting a segment of urban poor in
the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: the collectors of recyclable materials discarded by urban residences and
businesses, along with their refuse. The approach is unique for Brazil because it combines assorted policy
objectives at different governmental levels, two socially and security valued, two environmentally valued and
one economically valued, described as follows:
(a) To create a sustainable source of income for some of Rio’s homeless, young and old, male and female.
(b) To reduce crime by providing an alternative occupation for those most likely to engage in petty street crime.
(c) To reduce the predatory gathering of recyclables that causes street clashes among collectors and the scattering
of garbage.
(d) To reduce waste collection volumes and the pressure on the already overburdened landfills, operating over
capacity.
(e) To provide a source of increasingly valued items to a range of small industries that convert these materials into
marketable goods and processed raw materials.
*Correspondence to: R. F. Pinto, Av. Rui Barbosa 624 ap. 1001, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. E-mail: rgrpinto@yahoo.com
†
Article presented at the 2011 Symposium on Governance and the Eradication of Poverty: New Perspectives from Multidisciplinary Analysis—
IPAID, Yonsei University, Wonju Campus, South Korea, 20–22 October 2011.
public administration and development
Public Admin. Dev. 32, 402–415 (2012)
Published online in Wiley Online Library
(wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/pad.1616
Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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