This paper aims to provide information on the characterization of waste pickers operating in the Cerro Patacon Landfill in Panama City. In 2018, the first National Characterization of Recyclers was carried out with a sample of 213 people, and in 2020 it was updated with a sample of 469 waste pickers to strengthen the data obtained at its inception. This research seeks to establish a baseline of information that can foster associativity, training and productive cooperativism, facilitating the inclusion of waste pickers in national management systems.
The 2020 results indicate an increase in the number of waste pickers interviewed in relation to 2018. Of the sample, 20% have been in the activity for 11 months or less, and 50% are 40 years old or younger, representing an increase of more than 15% compared to previous data. This increase is attributed to several factors: conducting the fieldwork in the summer (December 2020 - January 2021), an agreement between the waste pickers union and the landfill company that facilitated access to waste pickers, and mobility restrictions during the pandemic in Panama, which allowed them to be easily located in their homes. The findings could be useful for the design of inclusive public policies in solid waste management.
