Organised waste pickers in Colombia are formally recognised as subjects of special protection and as providers of the public service of recycling. As a consequence, they now receive remuneration for their work, but this was not always the case. This article highlights the strategies waste pickers used to successfully demand their rights while exploring the tensions and contradictions surrounding the formalisation of waste pickers as public service providers of recycling. These include a lack of sufficient guarantees from the government, attempts by private companies to appropriate waste pickers’ benefits, and a lack of respect by both the state and private businesses for the recognition of their rights in law. It concludes that there is an inherent tension between the main objectives of the waste pickers—to improve their working conditions and overcome poverty and vulnerability—and that of the state, which promotes free market competition in the provision of public services.

中文翻译：

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哥伦比亚拾荒者的斗争：从被视为垃圾到被认可为工人

哥伦比亚的有组织废物收集者已被正式确认为受到特别保护的对象，并且是回收利用公共服务的提供者。结果，他们现在因工作而获得报酬，但情况并非总是如此。本文着重介绍了拾荒者成功地要求其权利的策略，同时探讨了拾荒者正式成为回收的公共服务提供者所面临的矛盾和矛盾。其中包括：政府缺乏足够的保证；私营公司试图从垃圾收集者的利益中获得利益；国有和私营企业都缺乏对承认其法律权利的尊重。