Cartoneros

A documentary committed to exposing the way in which thousands of unemployed workers come daily into the city of Buenos Aires in order to sort and classify the garbage that neighbors leave behind every evening on their doorsteps. The movie, which took two years to film, shows the process of sorting and selling the trash collected by cartoneros that work independently as well as by those who have created co-ops in order to protect themselves from abusive middle management. The documentary follows the trash through the whole process: from the neighborhood’s sidewalk all the way to the paper mill. Among the many stages of garbage, the film also offers a reflection on the relation between garbage and art. This hour-long film unveils the complexity of informal recycling and its social, political and cultural implications.