Education and training: Key solution to self-management and economic sustainability of waste pickers organisations.

Being a waste picker is not considered a profession in the eyes of society. One reason is that it does not require professional qualifications or training. Thus, most waste pickers are individuals who had difficulty entering the labour market, mainly due to low education levels. As members of waste pickers organisations (WPOs), they have difficulties in practicing self-management and, consequently, in maintaining the WPO's economic sustainability. This is a barrier to waste pickers' inclusion in the integrated solid waste management, but it can be overcome with investment in their education and professional training. However, it is not clear how this can be accomplished. This article presents guidelines for the education and training of organised waste pickers. These guidelines were developed based on socioeconomic information with a focus on education and training collected from interviews with waste pickers (n = 215) of 24 Brazilian WPOs. The potentials and vulnerabilities of this socioeconomic profile allowed the elaboration of the main following guidelines: the classroom must be the WPO itself; a mentor is needed to conduct the education and training programme using a non-formal teaching and learning method; the content should be defined collectively, based on the knowledge of the organisation's members and the daily WPO's issues. In addition to isolated actions, these guidelines should be included in public policy programmes.

Pollution threat to water and soil quality by dumpsites and non-sanitary landfills in Brazil: A review.

This work presents an overview of environmental studies performed in areas affected by dumpsites and non-sanitary landfills in Brazil, focusing on physicochemical analysis of surface water, groundwater, and soils, as well as geophysical surveys. The objective was to identify the main contaminants found in these areas and to assess their environmental impact, guiding possible intervention measures, indicating the priority areas, and showing whether post-closure activities are mandatory. The results should support governmental actions, especially considering the recent approval of Brazil's new sanitation framework. The present review assessed 162 publications, which described 104 different municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal sites. The physicochemical parameters of analyzed surface water, groundwater, and soil samples were above Brazilian legislation levels in 74%, 70%, and 24% of the studies, respectively. The parameters more frequently above permissible levels were coliforms, biochemical oxygen demand, dissolved oxygen, and phosphorus for surface water; lead, coliforms, and iron for groundwater; copper, cadmium, lead, and zinc for soil. The results indicated that Brazilian dumpsites are causing negative impacts in surrounding soils and water resources, posing ecological and public health risks that persist even after the site's closure. Considering that this study provides only a reduced scenario, the dimension of this environmental problem in Brazil is noteworthy. Therefore, it is suggested that not only inadequate disposal is prohibited, but also efficient enforcement methods are adopted and aftercare is appropriately regulated in the country, making it obligatory to establish monitoring plans and implement mitigation techniques to avoid abandoning potentially contaminated areas.