Informal Collection in Buenos Aires. Beyond the crisis(s).

MARIANO D. PERELMAN

Otro; I International Colloquium Recycling Utopia; 2022

Capes/NUFFIC and network of researchers on Anthropologies of Waste and Circular economics

People looking into the garbage things to sell orto use is as antic as Buenos Aires. Nevertheless, what we named “informalcollection” is rather new. This is not a minor issue. The way we (researchers,public policies maker) construct public problems is central for theconstitution of lives. My argument is simple. The relation betweeninformal recovery and environment -recycling- is not natural. It is a socialconstruction, and it is the way in which a process of pauperization wasconstructed as a public problem. In Buenos Aires, the massive appearance of informalcollection (cartone) as a public problem was marked by two crises. Twoprocesses took place in parallel that marked the registration of the activityin relation to the environment and the crisis. On the one hand, the degradationof the final waste disposal system. On the other hand, it was during the “crisis”of 2001 that the cartoneros “appeared” in the public space and on the publicagenda.@font-face{font-family:"Cambria Math";panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;mso-font-charset:0;mso-generic-font-family:roman;mso-font-pitch:variable;mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal{mso-style-unhide:no;mso-style-qformat:yes;mso-style-parent:"";margin:0cm;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault{mso-style-type:export-only;mso-default-props:yes;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;mso-ansi-language:ES-TRAD;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}div.WordSection1{page:WordSection1;}@font-face{font-family:"Cambria Math";panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;mso-font-charset:0;mso-generic-font-family:roman;mso-font-pitch:variable;mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal{mso-style-unhide:no;mso-style-qformat:yes;mso-style-parent:"";margin:0cm;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault{mso-style-type:export-only;mso-default-props:yes;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;mso-ansi-language:ES-TRAD;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}div.WordSection1{page:WordSection1;}