Contesting informality through innovation “from below”: epistemic and political challenges in a waste pickers cooperative from Buenos Aires (Argentina)

Autores
Carenzo, Sebastian
Año de publicación
2020
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
This paper draws on an ethnographic research to critically analyze the process of formalization of the so-called “informal” recyclers within the Buenos Aires metropolitan area. It claims that their recognition by governmental and nongovernmental agencies has been mostly oriented to crystallize their role as a workforce in the lower shackles of the recycling value chain. In contrast, other valuable contributions of waste pickers, such as the development of a practical pedagogy towards the segregation and recycling of materials, or the design and manufacturing of their own technological devices, have not been yet properly recognized or strengthened in the same way. Therefore, to approach the waste management field by focusing on the innovations dynamic is revealing of to what extent it is shaped by asymmetric power relations, which include epistemic and techno-cognitive dimensions. Drawing on the notion of epistemic (in)justice, this paper provides a critical reflection on the drivers and obstacles that shape innovation skills aimed at waste management, and thus, define which actors are to be legitimated as “innovators” within this field and which are not. Finally, I share some open reflections about some policy guidelines that could help to profit from the rich body of technological experience and knowledge elaborated within waste picker’s grassroots organizations. At the same time, I will highlight the specific contribution of an ethnographic perspective to the study of grassroot innovations.
Fil: Carenzo, Sebastian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencias Sociales. Instituto de Estudios Sociales de la Ciencia y la Tecnología; Argentina
Materia
BUENOS AIRES
EPISTEMIC POLITICS
ETHNOGRAPHY
GRASSROOT INNOVATIONS
WASTE PICKERS
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar/
Repositorio
CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Institución
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
OAI Identificador
oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/170810
Acceder
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network_name_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
spelling Contesting informality through innovation “from below”: epistemic and political challenges in a waste pickers cooperative from Buenos Aires (Argentina)Contestando a informalidade por meio da inovação “de baixo”: desafios epistêmicos e políticos em uma cooperativa de catadores de lixo de Buenos Aires (Argentina)Concurso de informalidad a través de la innovación “desde abajo”: desafíos epistémicos y políticos en una cooperativa de recicladores de Buenos Aires (Argentina)Carenzo, SebastianBUENOS AIRESEPISTEMIC POLITICSETHNOGRAPHYGRASSROOT INNOVATIONSWASTE PICKERShttps://purl.org/becyt/ford/5.9https://purl.org/becyt/ford/5This paper draws on an ethnographic research to critically analyze the process of formalization of the so-called “informal” recyclers within the Buenos Aires metropolitan area. It claims that their recognition by governmental and nongovernmental agencies has been mostly oriented to crystallize their role as a workforce in the lower shackles of the recycling value chain. In contrast, other valuable contributions of waste pickers, such as the development of a practical pedagogy towards the segregation and recycling of materials, or the design and manufacturing of their own technological devices, have not been yet properly recognized or strengthened in the same way. Therefore, to approach the waste management field by focusing on the innovations dynamic is revealing of to what extent it is shaped by asymmetric power relations, which include epistemic and techno-cognitive dimensions. Drawing on the notion of epistemic (in)justice, this paper provides a critical reflection on the drivers and obstacles that shape innovation skills aimed at waste management, and thus, define which actors are to be legitimated as “innovators” within this field and which are not. Finally, I share some open reflections about some policy guidelines that could help to profit from the rich body of technological experience and knowledge elaborated within waste picker’s grassroots organizations. At the same time, I will highlight the specific contribution of an ethnographic perspective to the study of grassroot innovations.Fil: Carenzo, Sebastian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencias Sociales. Instituto de Estudios Sociales de la Ciencia y la Tecnología; ArgentinaTaylor & Francis2020-09info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/11336/170810Carenzo, Sebastian; Contesting informality through innovation “from below”: epistemic and political challenges in a waste pickers cooperative from Buenos Aires (Argentina); Taylor & Francis; Tapuya; 3; 1; 9-2020; 441-4712572-9861CONICET DigitalCONICETenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/25729861.2020.1788775info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1080/25729861.2020.1788775info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar/reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas2025-09-10T13:11:02Zoai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/170810instacron:CONICETInstitucionalhttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/oai/requestdasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:34982025-09-10 13:11:03.167CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicasfalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Contesting informality through innovation “from below”: epistemic and political challenges in a waste pickers cooperative from Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Contestando a informalidade por meio da inovação “de baixo”: desafios epistêmicos e políticos em uma cooperativa de catadores de lixo de Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Concurso de informalidad a través de la innovación “desde abajo”: desafíos epistémicos y políticos en una cooperativa de recicladores de Buenos Aires (Argentina)
title Contesting informality through innovation “from below”: epistemic and political challenges in a waste pickers cooperative from Buenos Aires (Argentina)
spellingShingle Contesting informality through innovation “from below”: epistemic and political challenges in a waste pickers cooperative from Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Carenzo, Sebastian
BUENOS AIRES
EPISTEMIC POLITICS
ETHNOGRAPHY
GRASSROOT INNOVATIONS
WASTE PICKERS
title_short Contesting informality through innovation “from below”: epistemic and political challenges in a waste pickers cooperative from Buenos Aires (Argentina)
title_full Contesting informality through innovation “from below”: epistemic and political challenges in a waste pickers cooperative from Buenos Aires (Argentina)
title_fullStr Contesting informality through innovation “from below”: epistemic and political challenges in a waste pickers cooperative from Buenos Aires (Argentina)
title_full_unstemmed Contesting informality through innovation “from below”: epistemic and political challenges in a waste pickers cooperative from Buenos Aires (Argentina)
title_sort Contesting informality through innovation “from below”: epistemic and political challenges in a waste pickers cooperative from Buenos Aires (Argentina)
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Carenzo, Sebastian
author Carenzo, Sebastian
author_facet Carenzo, Sebastian
author_role author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv BUENOS AIRES
EPISTEMIC POLITICS
ETHNOGRAPHY
GRASSROOT INNOVATIONS
WASTE PICKERS
topic BUENOS AIRES
EPISTEMIC POLITICS
ETHNOGRAPHY
GRASSROOT INNOVATIONS
WASTE PICKERS
purl_subject.fl_str_mv https://purl.org/becyt/ford/5.9
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/5
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv This paper draws on an ethnographic research to critically analyze the process of formalization of the so-called “informal” recyclers within the Buenos Aires metropolitan area. It claims that their recognition by governmental and nongovernmental agencies has been mostly oriented to crystallize their role as a workforce in the lower shackles of the recycling value chain. In contrast, other valuable contributions of waste pickers, such as the development of a practical pedagogy towards the segregation and recycling of materials, or the design and manufacturing of their own technological devices, have not been yet properly recognized or strengthened in the same way. Therefore, to approach the waste management field by focusing on the innovations dynamic is revealing of to what extent it is shaped by asymmetric power relations, which include epistemic and techno-cognitive dimensions. Drawing on the notion of epistemic (in)justice, this paper provides a critical reflection on the drivers and obstacles that shape innovation skills aimed at waste management, and thus, define which actors are to be legitimated as “innovators” within this field and which are not. Finally, I share some open reflections about some policy guidelines that could help to profit from the rich body of technological experience and knowledge elaborated within waste picker’s grassroots organizations. At the same time, I will highlight the specific contribution of an ethnographic perspective to the study of grassroot innovations.
Fil: Carenzo, Sebastian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencias Sociales. Instituto de Estudios Sociales de la Ciencia y la Tecnología; Argentina
description This paper draws on an ethnographic research to critically analyze the process of formalization of the so-called “informal” recyclers within the Buenos Aires metropolitan area. It claims that their recognition by governmental and nongovernmental agencies has been mostly oriented to crystallize their role as a workforce in the lower shackles of the recycling value chain. In contrast, other valuable contributions of waste pickers, such as the development of a practical pedagogy towards the segregation and recycling of materials, or the design and manufacturing of their own technological devices, have not been yet properly recognized or strengthened in the same way. Therefore, to approach the waste management field by focusing on the innovations dynamic is revealing of to what extent it is shaped by asymmetric power relations, which include epistemic and techno-cognitive dimensions. Drawing on the notion of epistemic (in)justice, this paper provides a critical reflection on the drivers and obstacles that shape innovation skills aimed at waste management, and thus, define which actors are to be legitimated as “innovators” within this field and which are not. Finally, I share some open reflections about some policy guidelines that could help to profit from the rich body of technological experience and knowledge elaborated within waste picker’s grassroots organizations. At the same time, I will highlight the specific contribution of an ethnographic perspective to the study of grassroot innovations.
publishDate 2020
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2020-09
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/11336/170810
Carenzo, Sebastian; Contesting informality through innovation “from below”: epistemic and political challenges in a waste pickers cooperative from Buenos Aires (Argentina); Taylor & Francis; Tapuya; 3; 1; 9-2020; 441-471
2572-9861
CONICET Digital
CONICET
url http://hdl.handle.net/11336/170810
identifier_str_mv Carenzo, Sebastian; Contesting informality through innovation “from below”: epistemic and political challenges in a waste pickers cooperative from Buenos Aires (Argentina); Taylor & Francis; Tapuya; 3; 1; 9-2020; 441-471
2572-9861
CONICET Digital
CONICET
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/25729861.2020.1788775
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1080/25729861.2020.1788775
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar/
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Taylor & Francis
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Taylor & Francis
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
reponame_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
collection CONICET Digital (CONICET)
instname_str Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.name.fl_str_mv CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.mail.fl_str_mv dasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.ar
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score 12.993085

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