A ECONOMIA CIRCULAR COMO ALTERNATIVA PARA A QUESTÃO SOCIOAMBIENTAL DOS CATADORES DE MATERIAIS RECICLÁVEIS DE BELÉM E RMB

The objective of this paper is to analyze the socio-environmental and economic situation of recyclable material collectors in Belém and the Metropolitan Region (RMB), the need to generate employment and income and the role of public policies in this process. To reach this objective, we start from the hypothesis that the insertion of the Circular Economy precepts in the productive chain of the collectors, will contribute to the quality of life of this category of workers, however a problem is raised that is to discuss the social and economic conditions in which workers meet. The Circular Economy is the base theory of this analysis, and we use the research-action methodology as a way to understand the dynamics of the work of the collectors, in addition to interviews in the recyclable materials cooperatives, a questionnaire applied to the cooperative members during the technical visits carried out. As a result, we identified that these workers have a socioeconomic profile, to participate in the government's social programs, and the income of these workers is only possible through the Circular Economy process, reinserting the secondary raw material in the production process. Therefore, data, research and interviews proved the importance of the process of reusing solid waste for the work and income of recyclable material collectors.