Caminhos do "lixo" : percepção ambiental e inclusão social dos catadores informais de materiais recicláveis em Aracaju - Sergipe

Abstract

In the face of a society that lives in constant technological changes in the production and consumption process, the informal collectors of recyclable materials have been carrying out the work of solid waste collection for some decades, the office in the field of environmental conservation is indispensable for the Environment, since they collect from the streets waste that is inappropriately discarded by the population. The activity performed by them may be the only form of survival and the means by which they can establish themselves in the labor market and obtain social insertion. Scavengers are included in public policies for social inclusion, but these do not include those who work informally. The research presents as general objective, to analyze the perception that the informal collectors of recyclable materials have on the environment in Aracaju. It outlines a qualitative and quantitative approach, using structured and semi-structured interviews as instruments of data collection; The technique of data processing was given through content analysis. The results obtained through the interviews regarding the environmental perception and social inclusion of the informal collectors, showed that they perceive their contributions to the conservation of the environment, once they carry out the work of waste segregation and segregation, however it has also been revealed that Some live on the margins of society, public power and at the tip of a chain exploited by scrap metal and recycling companies.