Contesting informality through innovation ?from below?: epistemic and political challenges in a waste pickers cooperative from Buenos Aires (Argentina)

CARENZO SEBASTIAN

Tapuya: Latin American Science, Technology and Society

Taylor & Francis online

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2020 vol. 3 p. 441 - 471

This paper draws on an ethnographic research to critically analyzethe process of formalization of the so-called ?informal? recyclerswithin the Buenos Aires metropolitan area. It claims that theirrecognition by governmental and nongovernmental agencies hasbeen mostly oriented to crystallize their role as a workforce in thelower shackles of the recycling value chain. In contrast, othervaluable contributions of waste pickers, such as the developmentof a practical pedagogy towards the segregation and recycling ofmaterials, or the design and manufacturing of their owntechnological devices, have not been yet properly recognized orstrengthened in the same way. Therefore, to approach the wastemanagement field by focusing on the innovations dynamic isrevealing of to what extent it is shaped by asymmetric powerrelations, which include epistemic and techno-cognitivedimensions. Drawing on the notion of epistemic (in)justice, thispaper provides a critical reflection on the drivers and obstaclesthat shape innovation skills aimed at waste management, andthus, define which actors are to be legitimated as ?innovators?within this field and which are not. Finally, I share some openreflections about some policy guidelines that could help to profitfrom the rich body of technological experience and knowledgeelaborated within waste picker?s grassroots organizations. At thesame time, I will highlight the specific contribution of anethnographic perspective to the study of grassroot innovations