Urban political ecologies of informal recyclers׳ health in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Health Place. 2015 May:33:67-74. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2015.02.007. Epub 2015 Mar 11.

Abstract

Buenos Aires׳ informal recyclers (cartoneros) confront multiple health hazards in their work. Based in a survey with (n=397) informal recyclers, this study establishes that these workers experience uneven health landscapes as evidenced through their health outcomes, the social determinants of their health, and their living and working environments. I argue that the analytical framework of urban political ecology can provide insights to the ways that the urban environments where cartoneros live and work are socially-constructed phenomena, drawing on concepts of crisis, metabolism, and multi-scalar analyses.

Keywords: Argentina; Buenos Aires; Health; Informal recycling; Urban political ecology.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Argentina
  • Hazardous Waste / adverse effects*
  • Hazardous Waste / economics
  • Health Status*
  • Housing
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Occupational Exposure / adverse effects*
  • Recycling / economics
  • Recycling / methods
  • Social Determinants of Health

Substances

  • Hazardous Waste