[HN Gopher] Chariots of steel: Barcelona's hidden army of scrap ...
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Chariots of steel: Barcelona's hidden army of scrap recyclers
Author : vijayr02
Score : 23 points
Date : 2021-03-26 11:59 UTC (2 days ago)
(HTM) web link (www.theguardian.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.theguardian.com)
| the_gipsy wrote:
| To add some data: before the establishment of the recycling
| industry, scrap was traditionally collected by local gipsies. The
| rise of scrap prices made it attractive to "illegal" (paperless)
| immigrants.
| bserge wrote:
| This is a thing in Germany, too. People leave stuff by the
| kerbside, and a lot of these people collect whatever looks nice
| or simply take all of it, fix it and resell it, sell it to a
| recycling center or (sadly) dump it somewhere else. Highly doubt
| they're doing it the proper legal way, but it's extra cash in
| their pockets.
| joezydeco wrote:
| This exists in the USA as well. The hunters know the trash
| pickup schedule, and a lot hunt on weekends as well.
|
| It's unwritten knowledge in my neighborhood that you separate
| and leave metal waste on the curb where the pickers can get it
| easily. You see the pickup trucks slowly combing the areas in
| the afternoons and evenings.
|
| I've also seen more resourceful ones refurbish what they can
| and sell items at flea markets and in parking lots. BBQ grills
| and bicycles are always in the flow, although the bike supply
| has dried up with COVID.
| yiyus wrote:
| I doubt these numbers are correct. Catalonia has a population of
| 7.5 million people and the article claims there are between 50000
| and 100000 metal scrappers. That means around 1% (of course,
| since these are ilegal immigrants, they are not included in the
| official census, but there are also a lot of ilegal immigrants
| doing other things besides metal scrapping).
|
| 100 people does not generate enough steel scrap to keep a person
| busy for a long time. And let's not forget that a lot of metal
| parts are directly disposed by the citizens in the recycling
| centers ("puntos limpios"). The article did not mention that,
| giving the impression that the only way to get rid of a
| microwave, for example, is to leave it on the street hoping one
| of these scrappers find it.
| diggan wrote:
| > The waste belongs to the city, so collecting it is technically
| theft. "The city isn't going to prosecute these people and most
| are prepared to turn a blind eye to their activities," he says.
|
| Funny timing, as it seems the local government is starting to
| crack down on dumpster divers in the name of "collecting
| recycling data": https://www.ccma.cat/324/barcelona-estrenara-
| contenidors-int...
|
| > For many, it is impossible to fulfil these conditions, and even
| if they get legal status, they have to register as self-employed
| and pay a statutory monthly "quota" of EUR300, regardless of
| income, which they do not earn enough to pay.
|
| This is also incorrect. Being self-employed does have a monthly
| quota but it only kicks in after I think 2 years (first 6 months
| gratis, second 6 months small fee, third 6 months bigger fee and
| so on), so you can get up and running relatively cheap.
|
| I do agree that it's bad they don't get properly paid for the
| good work they are doing though, Barcelona is better because of
| them in general. One could always hope there could be a solution
| that benefits all the parties involved, instead of just one side.
| mxxc wrote:
| >Funny timing, as it seems the local government is starting to
| crack down on dumpster divers in the name of "collecting
| recycling data": https://www.ccma.cat/324/barcelona-estrenara-
| contenidors-int...
|
| ironic if this stuff will show up while paper metro tickets
| still reign supreme
| carlesfe wrote:
| > Being self-employed does have a monthly quota but it only
| kicks in after I think 2 years (first 6 months gratis, second 6
| months small fee, third 6 months bigger fee and so on), so you
| can get up and running relatively cheap.
|
| Nope, there are some exemptions, but if you want to run a
| business (even self-employed) in Spain, you need to pay
| 300EUR/month, even if you have zero revenue.
| moonbug wrote:
| it's hardly hidden! It's obvious to all who see.
| [deleted]
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