The social life of the recovered objects

The objective of this article is to investigate the objects recovered by trash pickers in the city of Buenos Aires. This work not only involves what they are given by residents, what doormen save for them, and what they manage to pick up, but is also closely tied to the characteristics and types of objects that are collected. In order to understand the significance of this job for the scavengers, this article contextualizes these objects as a part of the social relations which unfold around the activity. The present text does not focus on the types of exchanges but rather on the things that are exchanged and the way these objects are transformed throughout the collection process carried out by the trash pickers. Adapted from the source document.