Análise socioeconômica nos empreendimentos econômicos solidários de catadores de materiais recicláveis de Alagoas no ano de 2017

Abstract

Solidarity economy can be defined as a mode of production characterized by equal rights, the means of production are owned collectively by those who work with them. One characteristic of this new production process is self-management, that is, the enterprises of solidarity economy are managed by the workers themselves collectively in a fully democratic way. This practice can be found in collective collectors of recyclable materials. This study is the result of an empirical research that maps and analyzes the solidary economic enterprises (EES) of recyclable waste pickers in the state of Alagoas, nowadays inserted directly into the recycling chain, an activity considered as a means for environmental preservation. The objective of this work was to describe, understand, analyze and characterize the socioeconomic situation of the collectors of recycled materials organized in enterprises of the solidarity economy in Alagoas. The research involved methodological procedures concerning bibliographic research, identification and conceptualization of categories, and empirical research. Participant observation techniques were used to analyze daily life and the application of structured questionnaires for the construction of the socioeconomic diagnosis of the collectors , using the exploratory analysis of the data by the descriptive method. The sample used was 120 scavengers and eight EES formalized by scavengers, three of them located in Maceió-AL and the other five in cities in the interior of the state. The development of the research made it possible to record the formal performance of 19 EES of waste pickers, and to understand that the reality of recyclable waste pickers has not changed, continue with income below the minimum wage and low level of schooling, being the weakest link in the production chain recycling.