Waste pickers in Russia and in the world: problems, prospects and risks

The article is concerned with such a specific risk niche in the world and in Russia as waste pickers. According to the results of the author’s observation and statistics data, the situation in Russia differs dramatically from the global trends, in particular, from the developing countries, where for the moment despite the adverse social and environmental conditions there appear cooperative societies of the waste pickers promoting changes in their life standards and advancement of their social status. The author analyzes the main reasons of the problem and examines prospects and risks of this social niche.