News stories by Pablo Alfano

'The time will come when 80 percent of the raw material used by industry in Uruguay will be recycled waste products,' Marcelo Conde, a 40-year-old garbage sorter who has been digging through trash for recyclables 'for as long as I can remember,' says with some pride.

'Excuse me, I forgot my glasses, could you tell me what that sign says?' This was one of the ruses commonly used by Juan Gómez, who was too embarrassed to admit that at the age of 77, he had never learned to read or write.