Author: Melissa Godin
It’s a hot afternoon in Iztapalapa, Mexico City’s most populous borough. Under the baking sun, Enriqueta Loreto is separating recyclables from waste. Every day, she goes door to door, collecting people’s waste in the hope of finding objects she can resell. “Nobody protects us,” said Loreto, who carries out her work as a waste picker informally, without a contract or social protection. “The government does not recognise us, nor the waste workers’ union. We have no protection.”