Paulina is a waste picker from the municipality of Tres de Febrero, Buenos Aires, Argentina. She began to recycle after her release from prison, initially on her own in order to be able to provide food for herself and her family. She formed the Cooperativa las Pibas Reciclan with the aim of providing a work space for women waste pickers who were working in the municipality.
She made a special emphasis on the incorporation of people who have been locked up or who are going through consumption problems. In addition, the cooperative seeks to support those women who are under house arrest, unable to go out to work and perform their tasks, most of them being heads of household and responsible for the care of their children.
It is part of the Federación Argentina de Cartoneros, Carreros y Recicladores (FACCyR), an organization that defends the rights of waste pickers throughout Argentina and fights for recycling systems with social inclusion.
FACCyR promotes the creation of recycling systems within the Penitentiary Units of the Province of Buenos Aires so that those people who are detained begin a process of re-socialization through work and in conjunction with cooperatives of waste pickers.
