Recycling

On the surface, Buenos Aires seems to be a throw away society. Certainly, there seems to be little provision for recycling. However, appearances can be deceptive. Rubbish is collected overnight and the bags go out in the evening. In between the 'cartoneros' appear . These are people who sort through the rubbish, taking out the paper, cardboard, plastic and anything else that can be recycled. The cartoneros are near the bottom of Argentine society. Many had 'normal' jobs before the economic crash (waiters, building site labourers etc) but when the peso was devalued all that went out of the window.

Nowadays, whole families work as cartoneros and it is subsistance work. Cartoneros walk many kilometres to collect enough to resell. Rubbish is sold by the kilo and cartoneros get about 1 peso (20p) per kilo. Unfortunately, the cartoneros have to sell their collection to middle men who then sell onto the recycling companies at a much greater profit. Things are improving slightly - it's no longer illegal to work as a cartonero, there are moves to set up cartonero co-operatives and cartoneros can now claim social security benefits. Even so, it's not the sort of job I would want to do. So when you come to visit (and I hope you do) don't be surprised or shocked - it's a job Jim but not as we know it.