This essay identifies some trends in the analysis of the process of the socioeconomic organization of waste pickers who gather recyclable materials. It analyzes publications that discuss historic aspects of initiatives to organize this segment and of the establishment of institutional mechanisms aimed at the activities for selective collection of recyclable materials. It notes the existence of a field of disputes, tensions and resistances that converge for the strengthening of the struggles of these workers and for the conformation of the activities that they undertake. The text is based on a bibliographic study conducted for the development of the author's doctoral thesis.
Waste pickers; Recyclable materials; Socio-economic organization; Selective collection