Until the end of 2013, waste collectors mainly used animal drawn carts. A decree banning them was issued as they caused numerous traffic jams and sometimes even accidents. Another decree issued in Bogotá in 2013, established a programme to help replace these carts by providing financial assistance to purchase another means of transport. Nonetheless, these carts remain the vehicle the most commonly used by waste gatherers, far more popular than trucks or tricycles. They handed over their animals to the authorities, but now it is the waste gatherers themselves who pull smaller sized carts. This photo was taken during a visit to a recyclers’ association in Kennedy District.
