THE UNSUSTAINABLE DYNAMICS OF THE CONSUMER SOCIETY: PORTRAITS AND CHALLENGES

Abstract

With the advance of neoliberal globalization and the intensification of consumerist dynamics, multiple systemic crises are deepening. A crucial issue in this context is the generation of a large amount of solid, liquid and gaseous waste that, once treated inappropriately, end up contributing to the worsening of several social, environmental, economic and public health problems. This text addresses consumerism and socio-environmental unsustainability through the reverse of the process, that is, from the collectors of recyclable materials that are at the intersection of various impacts of the referred problems. To this end, interviews were conducted with a group of waste pickers who work and live in the city of Teixeira de Freitas/BA. The data were subsequently analyzed in the light of theoretical references that dialogue with this theme. The results show the need and urgency for the implementation of public policies aimed at selective collection, composting, recycling, provision of adequate infrastructure for the work of waste pickers and re-education for conscious and sustainable consumption.