This article aims to discuss the issue of social and productive inclusion of collectors of recyclable materials, present previously only in local public policy agendas and that has now reached the national governmental agenda. The theoretical discussion is based on Kingdon´s (1995) multiple streams theory, highlighting its limitations in the analysis of the phenomenon under study. The methodological procedures used were: bibliographical review, participative observation in events for collectors secondary data collection, spontaneous conversations and semi-structured interviews. We observed that to a certain extent there was a junction of Kingdon´s (1995) three streams: a problem gained public recognition, a political environment favorable to the emergence of issues such as this agenda, and a viable alternative to the problem presented itself - the inclusion of collectors in solid waste selective collection programs -, which do not respond completely to the dimensions of the problem. Civil society organizations played an essential role in this process. However, the multiple streams model does not conceive of a "bottom-up" agenda setting process, nor does it consider the influence of extra-institutional actors, such as civil society organizations, on the agenda setting process. As such, the model is unable to explain the complex relations between the State and civil society in Brazilian reality.
Collectors of recyclable materials; Agenda setting; Public policies