Magical Urbanism, a website about urbanization, design and social change, is maintained by Mike Ernst. I'm an urban planner and designer based in New York City. I graduated from the The Cartoneros of Buenos Aires
The 2001 economic crisis in Argentina closed thousands of factories across the country, putting millions out of work. Today, over 30 percent of the country is below the poverty line, with unemployment being one of the chief causes.
Some successful models of alternative economics have emerged. Groups of workers have taken over their former places of employment, occupying former factories, printshops, and hotels. The MTL have managed to create a new model of employment by radicalizing their politics while creating their own homes (see previous post here). But for most of Argentina’s poor, their options are still extremely limited.
One means of bringing in an income for poor residents of Buenos Aires and the surrounding areas is to collect and sell recyclable materials. Each night, the cartoneros walk from the shantytowns on the edge of town towards the city center and wealthy neighborhoods to look for recyclables. Others board the Tren Blanco(“White Train”), a former passenger train that has had its seats removed to accommodate their large carts. Although the original Tren Blanco has been retired, a new train (pictured below) has replaced it. They sort through some of the city’s 4,500 daily tons of waste, picking out the paper, cardboard, metal, and glass in an effort to support themselves and their family.
Echoing the efforts of other cooperatives in Argentina, new collectives have formed to sort through what the cartoneros collect and to sell it or turn it into new produces. The Tren Blanco cooperative purchases plastic — bottles, paint cans, old toys, furniture — and shreds it, cleans it, and bags it. Their shredded plastic (pictured below) is sold to companies oversees, including one in Japan that recycles the plastic into high-end polar fleece jackets.
Other cooperatives have formalized the process of collecting and sorting materials. The leader of this effort is El Ceibo, a cooperative in the upscale Palermo neighborhood, where the workers share their profits and workload. They gather during the day and have formed relationships with their neighbors from whom they collective. Perhaps most importantly, they pay themselves a salary, which, however small, adds stability to their lives.
El Ceibo is exceptional; what about the others? Is to be a cartoneros to have a job? They do not pay taxes and have no healthcare, no guarantee of income, no childcare, and job security. The City insits that yes, being a cartoneros means having a job. It is a means of income (however small), and a source of dignity for Argentina’s millions of unemployed. Some cartoneros we met echoed this sentiment. It is their livelihood, they said, their source of self-respect.
But ultimately, does the government’s insistence in the legitimacy of the cartoneros work to undermine their own efforts to relieve poverty? Recently, the City of Buenos Aires passed a ‘Zero Garbage’ law, which set quotas for the government to eliminate the waste of recyclable materials completely by 2020. Currently, less than 10 percent of the city’s waste is recycled, mostly due to the efforts of the cartoneros.
Will this sorting of all this waste be sorted formally or will the government rely on the informal sector to achieve this goal? By not focusing on establishing alternative jobs with predictable incomes with regulatory possibilities, are they only guaranteeing the cycle of poverty that permeates this city will continue indefinitely?
(Note: The first image in this article isn’t mine. The photographer’s Flickr site is here.)
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13 Responses to “The Cartoneros of Buenos Aires”
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[...] Meanwhile, I wanted to point out a couple of interesting posts that I saw elsewhere. The Magical Urbanism blog has some really great postings about urbanization and Buenos Aires. See the cartoneros of Buenos Aires and a Monday afternoon at Argentina’s largest landfill. Then work your way back on that blog for some more intesting posts. [...]
If you get the chance, try and check out the film ‘Cartoneros’ (http://www.cartonerosdoc.com/), by professor Ernesto Livon-Grosman out of Boston College (http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/romlang/faculty-staff/grosman/). Looks amazing, hopefully released on DVD at some point.
ciao!
b.
Susan Collings says:The film, Cartoneros, will play at the Harvard Film Archive in Cambridge, MA this Saturday (10/21) at 6 PM as part of the Boston Latino International Film Festival. I plan to be there and meet the director who will be there talking about his film!
Fi says:Should the cartoneros informal garbage sorting should be supported by the government? Yes! Why not strengthen and support the existing networks, why re-invent the wheel? Offer health cover schooling for future generations.
Hallie Boas says:My name is Hallie Boas and I am currently studying in Buenos Aires
at the Instituto Desarrollo Economia y Social (IDES). I am a junior at the University of
Vermont with a major in Environmental Studies and a minor in Community
Development and Applied Economics. The reason why I am contacting you
is because I am currently in the process of proposing an independent
study project about the cartoneros in Buenos Aires. I really enjoyed your
webpage and I would like to know more about your research. If you have any time to meet
with me or have additional resources I would greatly appreciate it.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Hallie
[...] These cartoneros, separating plastic from cardboard, metal from glass, have been a relatively recent addition to the city´s streets, their profession as a response to the 2001 financial crisis here that left over half of the population below the poverty line. They work quietly, nocturnally, and often alone; they are gone before the rest of the city wakes up. [...]
This is a very interesting article. You have a few problems though, two of the images don’t load for me ‘The White Train’ and ‘The Cartoneros of Buenos Aires’.
You also have a few typos.
- “neighbors from whom they collective” - collect?
- “Is to be a cartoneros” - cartonero?
- “The City insits that” - insists?
Also you have trackback urls that look like they point to pornography.
leah cleat cartoneros says:im really confused with the meaning of my family name is it really “trash pickers” the meaning of cartoneros in buenos aires? how come that cartoneros meaned that way? im looking for your honesty expalanation please do reply…
note: im from the country of philippines and i want to know about “cartoneros” meaning which is unfortunately myo family name….
aicha B?©larbi says:Bonjour,
Je suis A?Æcha B?©larbi, je travaille pout l’?©mission “Echapp?©es Belles” diffus?©e sur France 5 et TV5 Monde. Notre ?©quipe sera ?† Buenos Aires du 7 au 11 avril prochain pour le tournage d’une nouvelle ?©mission.
Nous serions tr?®s int?©ress?©s de rencontrer les cartoneros et ?©ventuellement de suivre une famille au quotidien, auriez-vous un contact ?† me communiquer sur place afin de nous aider ?† ce tournage ?
merci,
chaleureusmeent
This whole situation is SO absurd. Your post strikes as serious for you only. What can we do but make jokes about it?
[...] http://www.magicalurbanism.com/?p=149 [...]
[...] To read more, check out this article: The Cartoneros of Buenos Aires. This picture has been taken by Linda & Don. [...]
[...] and good infrastructure.The beauty of the city and its architecture are ruined nightly by the cartoneros going through the trash in the streets.There really are a ton of things to do, many cheap or free. [...]
[...] Meanwhile, I wanted to point out a couple of interesting posts that I saw elsewhere. The Magical Urbanism blog has some really great postings about urbanization and Buenos Aires. See the cartoneros of Buenos Aires and a Monday afternoon at Argentina’s largest landfill. Then work your way back on that blog for some more intesting posts. [...]
If you get the chance, try and check out the film ‘Cartoneros’ (http://www.cartonerosdoc.com/), by professor Ernesto Livon-Grosman out of Boston College (http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/romlang/faculty-staff/grosman/). Looks amazing, hopefully released on DVD at some point.
ciao!
b.
The film, Cartoneros, will play at the Harvard Film Archive in Cambridge, MA this Saturday (10/21) at 6 PM as part of the Boston Latino International Film Festival. I plan to be there and meet the director who will be there talking about his film!
Should the cartoneros informal garbage sorting should be supported by the government? Yes! Why not strengthen and support the existing networks, why re-invent the wheel? Offer health cover schooling for future generations.
My name is Hallie Boas and I am currently studying in Buenos Aires
at the Instituto Desarrollo Economia y Social (IDES). I am a junior at the University of
Vermont with a major in Environmental Studies and a minor in Community
Development and Applied Economics. The reason why I am contacting you
is because I am currently in the process of proposing an independent
study project about the cartoneros in Buenos Aires. I really enjoyed your
webpage and I would like to know more about your research. If you have any time to meet
with me or have additional resources I would greatly appreciate it.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Hallie
[...] These cartoneros, separating plastic from cardboard, metal from glass, have been a relatively recent addition to the city´s streets, their profession as a response to the 2001 financial crisis here that left over half of the population below the poverty line. They work quietly, nocturnally, and often alone; they are gone before the rest of the city wakes up. [...]
This is a very interesting article. You have a few problems though, two of the images don’t load for me ‘The White Train’ and ‘The Cartoneros of Buenos Aires’.
You also have a few typos.
- “neighbors from whom they collective” - collect?
- “Is to be a cartoneros” - cartonero?
- “The City insits that” - insists?
Also you have trackback urls that look like they point to pornography.
im really confused with the meaning of my family name is it really “trash pickers” the meaning of cartoneros in buenos aires? how come that cartoneros meaned that way? im looking for your honesty expalanation please do reply…
note: im from the country of philippines and i want to know about “cartoneros” meaning which is unfortunately myo family name….
Bonjour,
Je suis A?Æcha B?©larbi, je travaille pout l’?©mission “Echapp?©es Belles” diffus?©e sur France 5 et TV5 Monde. Notre ?©quipe sera ?† Buenos Aires du 7 au 11 avril prochain pour le tournage d’une nouvelle ?©mission.
Nous serions tr?®s int?©ress?©s de rencontrer les cartoneros et ?©ventuellement de suivre une famille au quotidien, auriez-vous un contact ?† me communiquer sur place afin de nous aider ?† ce tournage ?
merci,
chaleureusmeent
This whole situation is SO absurd. Your post strikes as serious for you only. What can we do but make jokes about it?
[...] http://www.magicalurbanism.com/?p=149 [...]
[...] To read more, check out this article: The Cartoneros of Buenos Aires. This picture has been taken by Linda & Don. [...]
[...] and good infrastructure.The beauty of the city and its architecture are ruined nightly by the cartoneros going through the trash in the streets.There really are a ton of things to do, many cheap or free. [...]