Solid waste and recycling cooperatives: Architecture as a social and environmental promoter

Abstract

The waste produced by today's society generates consequences and constant damage to the environment. Aiming at solving this problem, it’s created the National Solid Waste Policy (PNRS), which seeks shared solutions for the promotion of an efficient sorting and disposal system for recyclable materials. For the precepts established by PNRS to be fulfilled, it is necessary the work of both the collectors of recyclables organized in cooperatives, and the society in general through the selective collection. Waste pickers are often socially undervalued and their minimum working conditions are not met. In order to obtain results of this research, site visits were carried out in Santa Izabel do OestePR, seeking to understand the history of waste disposal in the municipality, as well as conducting interviews with participants of the municipal recycling cooperative. One can observe the socioeconomic context to which they are inserted, and find alternatives of how architecture through the principle of social condenser is able to promote environments that aim at the inclusion of waste pickers and society in the promotion of a more sustainable city.