Reclaiming the Discarded

In Reclaiming the Discarded Kathleen M. Millar offers an evocative ethnography of Jardim Gramacho, a sprawling garbage dump on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, where roughly two thousand self-employed workers known as catadores collect recyclable materials. While the figure of the scavenger sifting through garbage seems iconic of wageless life today, Millar shows how the work of reclaiming recyclables is more than a survival strategy or an informal labor practice. Rather, the stories of catadores show how this work is inseparable from conceptions of the good life and from human struggles to realize these visions within precarious conditions of urban poverty. By approaching the work of catadores as highly generative, Millar calls into question the category of informality, common conceptions of garbage, and the continued normativity of wage labor. In so doing, she illuminates how waste lies at the heart of relations of inequality and projects of social transformation.

"A book that brings dignity to people otherwise considered marginal and reveals a progressive potential in work otherwise considered 'rubbish.'", "Rich in ethnographic detail and theoretically engaging, Reclaiming the Discarded will surely find a receptive audience in graduate seminars and upper‐year undergraduate courses on economic anthropology or the anthropology of work.", "The end result is a thought‐provoking and pleasurable read that will be of value to scholars and students with an interest in Brazil and Latin America, economic anthropology, globalization, and urban anthropology.", "Reclaiming the Discarded offers rich theoretical and empirical insights into the dynamics of work in the informal sector under the conditions of neoliberal capitalism.", "[Reclaiming the Discarded] is an excellent example of what anthropologists do best. Methodologically, it is an ethnography that stands on its own. . . . Textually, the book is a beautiful read from start to finish: clear, concise and full of colour and life. Beyond the prose, the narrative itself shines, as Millar clearly formed deep and meaningful relationships with catadores and the people living around Jardim Gramacho."

Kathleen M. Millar is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Simon Fraser University.