In response to the progressive erosion of material and social resources, a heterogeneous multitude of plural actions emerges that contribute to transforming waste produced by urban metabolism into resources. The phenomenon of informal waste recovery, or waste picking, represents a practice as widespread as it is marginalised in the debate on material resource reuse. In this sense, the research aims to explore the activity of waste pickers as a transformative, alternative and parallel practice to the traditional urban waste management system, analysing the challenges and opportunities it entails. The activity of this plural network, often not formally recognised, focuses on the selection, collection and transport of waste, using shopping carts and bicycles to reach material sorting points. In a scenario where cities are configured as unexplored mines for initiating urban mining actions for waste recovery and valorization, the research intends to stimulate critical reflection on the recognisability of waste picker figures and on possible synergies with design and material regeneration practices. In particular, it aims to focus on the spread of these informal recovery practices, through the promotion of selection processes that are not exclusively guided by the perception of the economic value of waste, but that adopt a multiform approach integrating material, functional and aesthetic qualities. The qualitative analysis plans to be structured through the following phases: analysis of scientific literature relating to waste picking and material driven design practices; field evaluation of possible connections between waste pickers and design actions connected to the regeneration of waste and scraps; definition of methodologies to map and connect the realities involved; implementation of a network aimed at connecting waste pickers, designers and waste transformation spaces. The objective is to explore the contribution that design can offer in supporting these informal processes through a mapping of virtuous examples, divided into three categories of identified practices -- informal, in-formal and formal -- and the development of the Waste Mining Network, a collaboration network between designers, waste pickers and spaces dedicated to storage and recycling of waste materials. The relationship between the different actors involved could valorise these actions and promote a collective form of small-scale waste material recovery. Preserving informality, increasing the recognizability of this phenomenon as a form of material activism and promoting synergies between waste pickers and designers, can contribute to countering the systemic marginalisation deriving from the lack of recognition of these practices.
SCLERANTHOS Modular, bio-inspired and computational system for coastal and marine ecosystem protection
Cangelosi
2025
Abstract
In response to the progressive erosion of material and social resources, a heterogeneous multitude of plural actions emerges that contribute to transforming waste produced by urban metabolism into resources. The phenomenon of informal waste recovery, or waste picking, represents a practice as widespread as it is marginalised in the debate on material resource reuse. In this sense, the research aims to explore the activity of waste pickers as a transformative, alternative and parallel practice to the traditional urban waste management system, analysing the challenges and opportunities it entails. The activity of this plural network, often not formally recognised, focuses on the selection, collection and transport of waste, using shopping carts and bicycles to reach material sorting points. In a scenario where cities are configured as unexplored mines for initiating urban mining actions for waste recovery and valorization, the research intends to stimulate critical reflection on the recognisability of waste picker figures and on possible synergies with design and material regeneration practices. In particular, it aims to focus on the spread of these informal recovery practices, through the promotion of selection processes that are not exclusively guided by the perception of the economic value of waste, but that adopt a multiform approach integrating material, functional and aesthetic qualities. The qualitative analysis plans to be structured through the following phases: analysis of scientific literature relating to waste picking and material driven design practices; field evaluation of possible connections between waste pickers and design actions connected to the regeneration of waste and scraps; definition of methodologies to map and connect the realities involved; implementation of a network aimed at connecting waste pickers, designers and waste transformation spaces. The objective is to explore the contribution that design can offer in supporting these informal processes through a mapping of virtuous examples, divided into three categories of identified practices -- informal, in-formal and formal -- and the development of the Waste Mining Network, a collaboration network between designers, waste pickers and spaces dedicated to storage and recycling of waste materials. The relationship between the different actors involved could valorise these actions and promote a collective form of small-scale waste material recovery. Preserving informality, increasing the recognizability of this phenomenon as a form of material activism and promoting synergies between waste pickers and designers, can contribute to countering the systemic marginalisation deriving from the lack of recognition of these practices.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
