ABSTRACT
The pandemic caused a global crisis with socioeconomic and public health consequences for the whole society. The collectors of recyclable materials are professionals at the forefront of the sanitation field and suffer economic impacts, in addition to being constantly at risk of contamination. The organization of the collectors of recyclable materials in networks is a strategy adopted by Associations and Cooperatives in search of strengthening and better working conditions and during the pandemic it has been fundamental for the socioeconomic maintenance for these workers. In this sense, this work seeks to present interdisciplinary reflections based on the analysis of the experiences of Redesul Southwest MG, the challenges and coping strategies adopted by that organization, as well as the articulations made with other actors in the recycling production chain in order to mitigate the losses caused by COVID - 19. A bibliographic survey and data collection was carried out through semi-structured interviews with the organization's representative, whose data were analyzed using the content analysis method. The results point to challenges in the area of health, financial maintenance, inefficiency of public policies and participation of the population. However, it was observed the power of the organization in the Network guided by the solidarity between the groups and the articulations with partners to face the challenges and fill the gaps left by the public power regarding the implementation of public policies.