A conceptual method to research in social systems focused to informal waste pickers

Abstract

The viability of society depends on its ability to manage and maintain its common resources. It is important to find strategies that harmonize their use and access in order to maintain an optimum rate of combined extraction and consumption of resources, as well as to fortify social capital under a variability of cultural and social contexts. Three scenarios have been proposed with regard to the management of common resources; we propose there are differentiated by characteristics that demarcate the grade of conservation of the resources. With respect to the management of byproducts from urban solid wastes that informal waste pickers make in the dumps, throughout 20 years working on the subject, we concluded that the appropriation of materials in these social systems follow the same patterns as in natural systems. So we propose to use the theory of access to common resources, since we consider it is possible to utilize this methodology to model management scenarios that contribute to the understanding of the appropriation of materials at dumps, as well to propose strategies in order to improve the management of solid wastes and the welfare of the informal waste pickers. Under the premise that the handling and appropriation of solid wastes, which is done by the informal waste pickers is characteristic to the use of resources of common property, the theoretical integration of the investigation should undertake why solid wastes should be considered as resources and in what general conditions is the handling of these resources that are found in all countries where informal waste pickers occur.