Stop treating waste pickers like garbage: An autoethnography on informal waste picking in Brazil.

There are almost 8 billion people on the planet with every single one of them producing some type of waste. The cost of recycling and money made by selling recyclable products has created a strong foundation for informal waste picking to exist. Waste pickers sort through garbage to find recyclable material; it is estimated that there are around 20 million waste pickers worldwide. In 2022, I went to experience life as a waste picker in Brasilia, Brazil for a day to understand issues that may continue to exist in this informal industry. I worked in a triage center and used this experience to inform my autoethnography; even though I have worked in waste picker research for almost a decade, this experience led to a different conclusion. The most interesting issue that I found while working as a waste picker was the lack of uniformity in waste picking, which led to people working on the streets or in co-op triage centers. This population is vulnerable which is worsened from exposure to hazards by nature of the informal environment; this situation contributes to ongoing poor working conditions through lack of governmental oversight, policy development, and change. Ultimately, informality needs to be addressed.

Syphilis and other sexually transmitted infections among waste pickers in Brasilia, Brazil.

There are millions of waste pickers worldwide that are predominantly located in low- and middle-income countries. They survive on sorting and selling reusable orrecyclable materials discarded by society.While sorting, they are exposed to occupational risks and hazards, including cuts from sharp objects and medical wastes, that could be contaminated by infectious diseases. Because of these exposures, a study was conducted to determine the prevalence of syphilis and other sexually transmitted infections (STI's) among waste pickers. A cross-sectional study using a semi-structured questionnaire and blood samples for serological tests were collected. A total of 1,025 waste pickers were interviewed. Most participants were women (67.54%), without a partner (70.11%), were an average of 40 years old, and had between 3 and 4 children. There were 755 samples collected for syphilis, 791 for HIV, 866 for hepatitis B, and 859 for hepatitis C. Of these samples, 28 (3.70%) waste pickers had reagent serology for syphilis, 6 (0.75%) for HIV; 6 (0.69%) for acute hepatitis B and 1 (0.11%) for hepatitis C. Overall, this study identified the serological status of waste pickers; this information can be used to encourage waste pickers to seek health treatment for STIs and receive education to understand the risks associated with being exposed to medical waste or syringes.