The term landfill scavengers, or ragpickers, refers to the urban poor who make a living by sifting through the solid waste in landfills, collecting and selling recyclable objects and materials with residual value, including plastic, paper, aluminum or textiles. Landfill scavenging provides livelihoods to those from the poorest sections of society who often cannot secure formal employment. In developing economies with insufficient infrastructure for dealing with escalating volumes of waste, such as India or Brazil, scavengers who daily rummage through landfills perform an important public health role and help mitigate the waste crisis. Yet, despite isolated attempts for improvement, their work largely lacks any regulations, security or health and safety measures. Landfill scavenging is mostly performed without any protective equipment, health and safety training and it often includes child labor. Landfill scavengers thus offer an alarming example of global inequality, where those with the least share in economy, economic growth and overconsumption, are most directly exposed to their negative consequences.(1-3)
LANDFILL SCAVENGERS
