The Voice of Waste Pickers in Quatro Pontes: Identity, Female Agency, and Challenges in a Recycling Association

Abstract

This study analyzes the experience of the Associação Quatropontense de Catadores (AQC), in Quatro Pontes, Paraná, Brazil, based on interviews conducted with its members in 2025. Qualitative in nature, the research examined the waste pickers’ profiles, the meanings attributed to their work, the challenges they face, and the personal and collective transformations resulting from their participation in the association. The findings show that the AQC goes beyond income generation, becoming a space for identity reconstruction, female protagonism, and stronger community ties. For many participants, working in the association represents an opportunity to regain self-esteem, belonging, and everyday autonomy. The study also identified practices of self-management, mutual aid, and solidarity that reshape the social perception of waste picking, turning it into an ethical and political act of caring for the commons and protecting the environment. Although important advances were observed, structural challenges remain, especially regarding infrastructure, community communication, and the value of recyclable materials. The AQC thus emerges as a counter-hegemonic space of resistance and emancipation, grounded in collective work, community ethics, and sustainability aligned with the solidarity economy and the UN 2030 Agenda.