February 29, 2016
About 1% of the urban population in developing countries pick recyclable materials to earn an income. These waste pickers are responsible for 50-100% of the waste collection in developing countries, thereby contributing to both cleaner cities and more recycling. However, waste pickers are typically poorly compensated and not appreciated by society as a whole. This IAP, I worked through the MIT-Brazil Program to address the lack of social and financial recognition for Brazilian waste pickers. Waste pickers in Brazil have a huge positive impact on the environment. However, despite their key services and positive impact, they are compensated poorly and only when delivering materials. Before learning about MIT’s role addressing the problem, it is important to understand the broader picture. A step towards social recognition of Brazilian waste pickers happened in 2012 when a graffiti artist, Thiago Mundano, started “pimping up” waste pickers’ carts with bright colors and different slogans (see his TED talk). People started noticing the carts and the waste pickers felt seen. |
Soon, pimping up trash carts grew to a larger a movement, and the nonprofit initiative Pimp my Carroça (“carroça” means “trash cart”) was born. Pimp my Carroça has pimped up more than 500 trash carts and recognized waste pickers by for example naming a street after a waste picker. People who want to recycle more now call Pimp my Carroça to get in contact with waste pickers who can pick up their recyclable materials. The members of Pimp my Carroça are excited about the change that is happening, but also realize that they cannot act as intermediaries via phone for the 500,000 waste pickers in Brazil.
To address the challenge of scale, I worked on a new application, RECO, which seeks to improve the compensation of catadores by being an “Uber for recycling”. RECO connects waste pickers with people who want to recycle and thereby helps increase the quantity and improve the quality of materials the waste pickers have access to. Simultaneously, the application turns the waste pickers into service providers and contributes to altering the social perception of them. The RECO application connects waste pickers with users who want to recycle, thereby 1) increasing the quantity and quality of materials that the waste pickers recycle and 2) transform waste pickers to service providers.
By the end of my stay I had developed a prototype and a framework for further development. The RECO application is currently still being developed by Brazilian volunteers and anticipating launch this spring. Now, back at MIT, I look back at my month in Brazil and feel that the chance to work with Pimp my Carroça was uniquely fun, impact-driven, and learning-heavy.
Going to Brazil through MISTI let me 1) have fun by experiencing São Paulo’s bohemian neighborhood Vila Madalena with its vibrant bars and restaurants, 2) learn about Brazilian culture and improve my Portuguese, and 3) use my technical skills to contribute to the mission of a nonprofit organization. I am thankful for MIT’s global outlook and MISTI programs, and specifically the MIT-Brazil program which enabled the opportunity. The MIT-Brazil Program Manager plays an important role as a connector between organizations with interesting problems and MIT community members wanting to tackle such problems. The MIT-Brazil program shows consistent growth as increasing numbers of Brazilian organizations and MIT students see the value in these win-win partnerships. This last IAP, 19 students visited Brazil to do externships, work with nonprofits, and launch a new Global Teaching Lab program in Brazil.
Relationships are at the heart of creating win-win partnerships between people and organizations who otherwise would not meet. An example of the power of these relationships is how Humanitas360 connected MIT-Brazil with a social impact organization that invests in Pimp my Carroça, ultimately leading to my own involvement. I am grateful for these relationships between MIT and Brazil that facilitate student opportunities for learning and impact. My hope is that I can now personally contribute to this relationship and future impact-driven projects in Brazil.
To address the challenge of scale, I worked on a new application, RECO, which seeks to improve the compensation of catadores by being an “Uber for recycling”. RECO connects waste pickers with people who want to recycle and thereby helps increase the quantity and improve the quality of materials the waste pickers have access to. Simultaneously, the application turns the waste pickers into service providers and contributes to altering the social perception of them. The RECO application connects waste pickers with users who want to recycle, thereby 1) increasing the quantity and quality of materials that the waste pickers recycle and 2) transform waste pickers to service providers.
By the end of my stay I had developed a prototype and a framework for further development. The RECO application is currently still being developed by Brazilian volunteers and anticipating launch this spring. Now, back at MIT, I look back at my month in Brazil and feel that the chance to work with Pimp my Carroça was uniquely fun, impact-driven, and learning-heavy.
Going to Brazil through MISTI let me 1) have fun by experiencing São Paulo’s bohemian neighborhood Vila Madalena with its vibrant bars and restaurants, 2) learn about Brazilian culture and improve my Portuguese, and 3) use my technical skills to contribute to the mission of a nonprofit organization. I am thankful for MIT’s global outlook and MISTI programs, and specifically the MIT-Brazil program which enabled the opportunity. The MIT-Brazil Program Manager plays an important role as a connector between organizations with interesting problems and MIT community members wanting to tackle such problems. The MIT-Brazil program shows consistent growth as increasing numbers of Brazilian organizations and MIT students see the value in these win-win partnerships. This last IAP, 19 students visited Brazil to do externships, work with nonprofits, and launch a new Global Teaching Lab program in Brazil.
Relationships are at the heart of creating win-win partnerships between people and organizations who otherwise would not meet. An example of the power of these relationships is how Humanitas360 connected MIT-Brazil with a social impact organization that invests in Pimp my Carroça, ultimately leading to my own involvement. I am grateful for these relationships between MIT and Brazil that facilitate student opportunities for learning and impact. My hope is that I can now personally contribute to this relationship and future impact-driven projects in Brazil.