28/6/2025–|Last update: 15:44 (Mecca time)
Dozens of waste in Colombia, the famous Bolivar Square in Bogota, were drowned by about 15 tons of recyclable materials, in protest against their low income and the deterioration of working conditions.
These workers collect waste from homes, factories and offices, and then sell them to local recycling stations.
The demonstration was organized by 14 societies of waste collectors in Bogota, a city where about 20 thousand waste collector works for long hours in collecting materials such as plastic bottles, metal scrap and carton boxes. About 100 people participated in the protest, some of them acting as if they were swimming in the piles of garbage.
“We want the factories to pay us a fair price in exchange for the materials we collect … on the Colombians and their government to realize that without our work, the burials of waste will be crowded,” said Noura Badilla.
Most of the waste collectors in Colombia work independently, running heavy vehicles and collecting recyclable materials that are not collected by local garbage trucks. These trucks – managed by contracting companies or municipalities – focus on collecting organic waste and non -recycling.
The income of waste collectors is highly dependent on the amount of plastic, cartoon or mineral kilograms that they can sell daily to local warehouses or associations, which in turn sells them to recycling stations.
It is noteworthy that the Colombia constitution gives protection to waste collectors, most of whom are from poor backgrounds. It stipulates that they are prioritized for large companies in collecting recyclable materials. Laws are obligated to municipalities in major cities to pay monthly fees for waste college societies, depending on the amount of waste they collect.
However, the prices of recyclable materials are unstable, and waste colleges face an increasing competition from Venezuelan immigrants working in the same field in cities such as Bogota and Midelin.
It is estimated that most of the collectors in Colombia are achieving less than the minimum wage in the country, which is 350 dollars per month.
(Tagstotranslate) Ting (T) Transparency (T) the American (T) Colombia