A waste picker is a person who salvages reusable or recyclable materials thrown away by others to sell or for personal consumption. There are millions of waste pickers worldwide, predominantly in

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...

, but increasingly in

post-industrial In sociology, the post-industrial society is the stage of society's development when the service sector generates more wealth than the manufacturing sector of the economy. The term was originated by Alain Touraine and is closely related to s ...

countries as well. Various forms of waste picking have been practiced since antiquity, but modern traditions of waste picking took root during

industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...

in the nineteenth century. Over the past half-century, waste picking has expanded vastly in the developing world due to

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...

toxic colonialism Toxic colonialism, or toxic waste colonialism, refers to the practice of exporting hazardous waste from developed countries to underdeveloped ones for disposal. Background In 1992, 'toxic colonialism' was a phrase coined by Jim Puckett of Greenpe ...

and the

global waste trade The global waste trade is the international trade of waste between countries for further treatment, disposal, or recycling. Toxic or hazardous wastes are often imported by developing countries from developed countries. The World Bank Report ' ...

. Many cities only provide solid waste collection.

Terminology

Many terms are used to refer to people who salvage recyclables from the waste stream for sale or personal consumption. In English, these terms include ''rag picker'', ''reclaimer'', ''informal resource recoverer'', ''binner'', ''recycler'', ''poacher'', ''salvager'', ''scavenger'', and ''waste picker''; in Spanish ''cartonero'', ''chatarrero'', ''pepenador'', ''clasificador'', ''minador'' and ''reciclador''; and in Portuguese ''catador de materiais recicláveis''. A more contemporary term, focusing on the outcome of the professional activity, is "informal sector recycling". However, the word "informal" can be partly misleading, because in practice a continuum between total informality and proper organization in taxed registered formal activities may be encountered. In 2008, participants of the First World Conference of Waste Pickers chose to use the term "waste picker" for English usage to facilitate global communication. The term "scavenger" is also commonly used, but many waste pickers find it demeaning due to the implied comparison with animals. A waste picker is different from a waste collector because the waste collected by the latter may be destined for a

landfill A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste ...

incinerator Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of substances contained in waste materials. Industrial plants for waste incineration are commonly referred to as waste-to-energy facilities. Incineration and other high ...

, not necessarily for a recycling facility. "

Dumpster diving Dumpster diving (also totting, skipping, skip diving or skip salvage) is salvaging from large commercial, residential, industrial and construction containers for unused items discarded by their owners but deemed useful to the picker. It is n ...

" generally refers to the practice of

anti-consumer {{Short pages monitor