Rusty metal recycling carts line the streets of Vila dos Papeleiros. Miniature backyards and gated front porches are used as tiny recycling warehouses. At the edge of the neighborhood, the industrial streets off the Rua Voluntários da Pátria are filled with middleman recycling purchasers, called ferro velhos, to whom the catadores sell their products. The ferro velhos join forces to sell large amounts of recyclables to other middlemen or directly back to the industry, as well as material producers, who turn the products into new materials.
The ad-hoc system is an anomaly – a recycling success story among a sea of global debris. Brazil has few national recycling laws (the Brazilian Senate is still debating solid waste legislation that has been on the table for two decades), but nevertheless has achieved recycling levels close to those of countries like Japan and Germany, which mandate robust recycling.http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/eij/article/cash_for_trash/