Activity-centered design: the case of a recyclables collection cart

The work of waste pickers is of essential importance in the field of recycling in Brazil. In order for this work to be as efficient as possible, providing financial returns for the workers and fulfilling its environmental and social role, it is necessary to have tools to support their activities. The collection cart is one of these instruments and has been the subject of analysis in various studies. This work is part of this research and aims to show the results, still partial, of the ergonomic analysis of the work carried out by groups of self-employed waste pickers who work on the streets of Belo Horizonte and whose activity is mediated by collection carts. This analysis is being carried out as part of a research and extension project, the ultimate aim of which is to build new cart models that meet the daily needs of waste pickers and the demands of their activities. These needs and demands are specific to each type of waste picker, and taking these particularities into account in the project tends to produce tools with greater technical appropriability.