Latin America & Caribbean
Recycling misery
Univision Investiga examines child labor and the bottling industry in Mexico
At the Bordo de Xochiaca garbage dump outside Mexico City, collectors collect recyclable materials from garbage left by trucks.
Peniley Ramírez/Univision Investiga
In the garbage dump children help their parents to separate recyclable materials. Their main customer is PetStar, a Coca-Cola recycling plant.
Peniley Ramírez/Univision Investiga
PetStar employees carry a bag with used plastic bottles, which they will take to the recycling plant. A bag contains on average 1,400 containers.
Peniley Ramírez/Univision Investiga
In a street in Mexico City, volunteers in a garbage truck separate recyclable materials from the trash to sell them. They live off the sale of these products and tips from homeowners and businesses, since they do not have a government salary.
Peniley Ramírez/Univision Investiga
Recyclable materials extracted from the trash are a commodity. A collection center in the Renovación neighborhood, where the majority of the inhabitants lives off the sale of these products, advertises purchase prices to the public.
Peniley Ramírez/Univision Investiga
At the San Juan de Aragón waste collection plant in Mexico City, the city's Human Rights Commission found unhealthy working conditions.
Peniley Ramírez/Univision Investiga
The Human Rights Commission of the Mexican capital found that in the San Juan de Aragón waste selection plant the trash collectors do not have a salary, bathrooms or adequate work tools.
Peniley Ramírez/Univision Investiga
This plastic recycling plant, owned by Coca-Cola and Mexican bottlers, receives the used plastic they collect in the garbage dump, garbage trucks and waste selection plants.
Peniley Ramírez/Univision Investiga