Bienestar social de los recicladores primarios de la ciudad de Cuenca – Ecuador

Abstract

In recent years, the recycling has taken more relevance in different parts of the world because it generates benefits for the society. The people who do this activity have different denominations. In Ecuador, they are called recicladores, chamberos, clasificador, among other. In the city of Cuenca, primary recyclers are who collect material in the streets with non-motorized transport facilities. According to the Regional Initiative for the Inclusive Recycling (2015), a significant number of recyclers are in vulnerability conditions. The different social contexts to which they are linked, generate assessments of the mentioned scenario and its social performance, as Keyes says (1998) in his theory of social wellness. Thus, this study had as purpose to describe the level of social wellness of the primary recyclers in the city of Cuenca-Ecuador related to the socio-demographics variables. This research had a quantitative approach, of a transversal and non-experimental type with a descriptive reach. There was a sample of 200 primary recyclers, obtained by a simple aleatory sampling over a 276 population. There was applied the Keyes’ Social Wellness Scale, adapted in Spanish by Blanco and Díaz (2005) and the sociodemographic sheet. The primary recyclers show a moderated average of social wellness with a higher average in acceptance and social integration. Concluding, the primary recyclers value modestly their conditions and social performance. They feel useful and valued and they feel part of the society; however, they have less confidence in themselves and others.