Workers’ perception of hazards on recycling sorting facilities in São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

The paper discusses views, perceptions, experiences, knowledge and behaviors related to occupational risks among recycling workers. Data collection involved field observation and two focus groups in each site. Narratives were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for themes. Findings are presented according to the following topics: economic and environmental value of recycling; aspects of employment in the cooperative system; occupational hazards; and suggestions of improvements. Municipal programs of selective collection, as implemented in most Brazilian municipalities, still need improvements to achieve their goals and objectives. We learned that organizing recycling workers in cooperatives, despite its broad acceptance as a replacement to informal garbage collection in streets and landfills, only brought small progress regarding the safety and quality of life of cooperative workers. Recycling workers noticed the existence of workplace hazards, but seemed resigned to the situation, considered them as part of the job and did not communicate their needs to supervisors. They ignored the existence of some measures to prevent hazards and sometimes even created work practices and alternatives that endangered their own health.

Resíduos de Serviço de Saúde Presentes na Coleta Seletiva: uma Análise dos Riscos aos Catadores

“…Os riscos de lesões da pele, especialmente mãos e pés constitui-se em um dos principais riscos a que estão expostos. Estudo semelhante realizado em São Paulo [14] mostra riscos aos catadores relacionados a presença de produtos tóxicos, equipamentos eletrônicos e uma variedade de resíduos médicos perigosos, como materiais contaminados com sangue, produtos químicos, seringas e agulhas desprotegidas.…”

Nexo biopsíquico humano no contexto dos catadores de lixo de uma associação do município de Arapiraca-AL

“…O alimento, quando descartado no lixo, não está apropriado para o consumo humano, podendo estar fora da validade, contaminado ou estragado, e gerar, com isso, doenças como intoxicações, parasitoses e infecções gastrointestinais. Portando, o consumo ou, por vezes, o simples contato com matéria orgânica estragada ou contaminada determina a exposição do catador às cargas biológicas, sob a forma dos diversos agentes etiológicos responsáveis por doenças infecto-parasitárias (BRASIL, 2005;COELHO et al, 2018;MOREIRA;GÜNTER;SIQUEIRA, 2019).…”

What about Using Photovoice for Health and Safety?

“…Safety management may benefit from using methods which provide more insight in what is happening between, around and to people interacting with each other, with equipment on the shop floor, and with their work places, e.g., in industry and in health care [13,22,23]. Furthermore, both safety management and workers could benefit from the application of methods which can be used by the people themselves [24,25]. Photovoice would be an effective and powerful tool, e.g., for workers in a specific setting, for workers represented by a union or for communication with safety regulatory agencies.…”