Livon-Grosman, Ernesto. Cartoneros. Watertown: Documentary Educational Resources, Inc., 2006. 16 mm, 60 min.
Cartoneros follows the paper recycling process in Buenos Aires from the trash pickers who collect paper informally, through middlemen in warehouses, to executives in large corporate mills. The process exploded into a multimillion dollar industry after Argentina’s latest economic collapse. Thousands of unemployed come daily into the city of Buenos Aires in order to sort the garbage that residents leave on their doorsteps every evening. The documentary shows the process of classifying and selling the trash collected by the cartoneros that work independently as well as by those who have created co-ops in order to protect themselves from abusive middle management. The film follows the trash from the neighborhood sidewalk all the way to the paper mill and is both a record of an economic and social crisis and an invitation to audiences to rethink the value of trash. (Source: Adapted from Documentary Educational Resources, Inc)
© 2006 Documentary Educational Resources, Inc. Trailer used with permission.
This film is available at the Rachel Carson Center Library (RCC, 4th floor, Leopoldstrasse 11a, 80802 Munich) for on-site viewing only. For more information, please contact library@rcc.lmu.de.
