Developing Appropriate Technology – The Cart Dilemma

Catadores across the world work in many forms, from picking in dumps to sorting through trash cans and collecting cans during block parties. But in urban Brazil, the most visible variety of catador is the street collector, who pulls large carts through the city, stockpiling material. Here is a typical example of such a cart:

These carts are ubiquitous in Brazil, mainly because they are the tool of choice for local depositories and scrap dealers, who lend them out to catadores to gather material for them. (If you look closely at the handlebar on the cart in the picture above, you will notice the "Depósito" mark and a phone number, identifying it as property of a local scrap dealer. This is common with most carts around Brazilian cities.)

The image of the individual pushing the cart is so synonymous with catadores that it is the symbol of the MNCR:

It’s easy to see the drawbacks to these carts. Dragging such massive loads around the cities, up and down giant hills while everybody stares at you can cause serious physical and social strain. While some catadores enjoy the independence of being able to sleep under their cart and some even take the opportunity to decorate them and show off their creativity, it is pretty easy to see the importance of developing better technology to make the work more comfortable and humane.

“Creating a better cart” has become something of a pastime here in Brazil. Lots of different organizations have taken a crack at trying to create a more appropriate technological alternative. There have been lightweight bamboo carts promoting environmental sustainability, electric carts proposed by the Itaipu dam authority and even homemade solutions such as emptying out an old refrigerator and putting it on wheels.Yet, so far, none of these ingenuitive proposals have seemed to stick. Why?

The problem has many layers, but a few principal factors stand out. One is ease of use. While they may be heavy and demeaning, the carts work. They can go up and down large hills carrying big loads, and they can fit in relatively tight areas as well. The two-wheeled structure allows for greater flexibility to maneuver, although that means relying on manual force to hold and pull the cart. Four-wheeled carts, or ones that use motors, often do not maneuver well and cannot supply the strength to go up steep hills.

Second is maintenance. Carts that use motors require much greater effort to repair, whether due to engine failure or mechanical flaws such as a broken axle. This not only makes the technology more expensive, it also requires greater skill to operate. ASMARE has a cart repair shop where wooden hand-pulled carts can be fixed, but doing the same for electric or gas carts would entail much higher operating costs due to stocking spare parts and training skilled repairmen. This is not just true for motorized parts: any cart that relies on a more rare material such as bamboo also necessitates a stock of that material for repairs, which can be hard to achieve.

The other driving factor outside of practical difficulties is economics. Even if a new cart design proves to be an effective alternative, upgrading the technology can still be a long process. If the new cart is more expensive (both in upfront costs and maintenance), then there needs to be a strong financial incentive to encourage organizations of catadores and, more importantly, local scrap dealers and depositories to make the switch. While it may be easier to convince the catadores themselves to change the technology if they see a benefit, the same cannot be said of the middlemen that rent the carts to them. These individuals are often not very concerned about the well-being of the catadores (hence the tendency of some to take advantage of them by offering low prices and trading goods for alcohol). The middlemen will get their materials regardless, so why should they invest their own money into upgrading their carts? The answer would probably have to be a mix of economic incentives and social and political pressure, shaming the scrap dealers into supporting the change. But regardless, a big push in this direction is yet to come, and the search for a better technology continues.

One new model developed by a local company, TECSCAN, is to use a gas-powered four-wheel cart. The model is currently being used by one cooperative in Belo Horizonte and INSEA is supporting a test period with a CATAUNIDOS-affiliated association in a town called Juatuba. The business will lend the cart to the association for use in collection in the center of town and INSEA and a local consulting company will evaluate the success of the technology. The cart was displayed several months ago during the State Recycling Conference:

While I am excited to see what will become of this new proposal, I would have preferred to see a more scientific study of the technology. Instead of simply handing it over to an association that has no history using carts (most of the members formerly collected at the dump) for use in an area that is significantly flatter than most parts of the Belo Horizonte metro area, it would have been better to control the variables. It should have been given to an association that already uses carts so that they could compare the effectiveness of the technology side by side and give more useful feedback. But regardless, I am sure the experience will give us some ideas moving forward of how to address cart development. If we can crack this puzzle, we can go a long way in improving the dignity and conditions of this work.

One additional note – as municipal governments implement recycling programs and associations and cooperatives of catadores expand their activities, it is easy to see a notable decline in cart use. Most of the CATAUNIDOS organizations do not employ hand-powered carts, and although some do use horses, most collection is done using trucks, which seem to be the principal form of transport for the future. However, carts do still have a key role to play in collection, both for individual street catadores who must transport their own materials, and for steep and windy areas of favelas or the urban periphery without traditional urban planning where vehicle access is limited and collection is more difficult. This post from an Indian-based initiative, Waste Ventures, does a nice job summing up some of the problems with implementing truck collection in urban centers of the developing world. Carts will be involved in recycling transportation schemes for a long time into the future, and developing the technology is thus a question that cannot be ignored.