Ragpicker, or chiffonnier, is a term for someone who makes a living by rummaging through refuse in the streets to collect material for salvage. Scraps of cloth and paper could be turned into cardboard, broken glass could be melted down and reused, and even dead cats and dogs could be skinned to make clothes. The ragpickers in 19th and early 20th Century did not recycle the materials themselves; they would simply collect whatever they could find and turn it over to a "master ragpicker" who would, in turn, sell it—generally by weight—to wealthy investors with the means to convert the materials into something more profitable. Although it was solely a job for the lowest of the working classes, ragpicking was considered an honest occupation, more on the level of street sweeper than of a beggar. In Paris, for instance, ragpickers were regulated by law: their operations were restricted to certain times of night, and they were required to return any unusually valuable items to the owner or to the authorities. When Eugène Poubelle introduced the garbage can in 1884, he was criticized in the French newspapers for meddling with the ragpickers' livelihoods. Modern sanitation and recycling programs ultimately caused the profession to decline, though it did not disappear entirely; rag and bone men were still operating in the 1970s. Ragpicking is still widespread in Third World countries today, such as in Mumbai, India, where it offers the poorest in society around the rubbish and recycling areas a chance to earn a hand-to-mouth supply of money. In 2015, the Environment Minister of India declared a national award to recognise the service rendered by ragpickers. The award, with a cash prize of Rs. 1.5 lakh, is for three best rag pickers and three associations involved in innovation of best practices.
Ragpicking has a positive impact on urban spaces with a weak waste management infrastructure. In India, the economic activity of ragpicking is worth about ₹3200 crore. India was also found to have a near-90% recycle rate for PET bottles, which could probably be attributed to ragpicking, given a lack of solid-waste management and under-developed waste collection and recycling culture in that country.
Legacy
Charles Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du Mal includes a poem where the ragpicker character has a prominent role, entitled "Le Vin de chiffonniers".
Francis Saltus Saltus' Shadows and Ideals includes a poem about ragpickers entitled "The Old Rag-picker of Paris".
A section of tenement buildings near Chatham Square, Manhattan became known as Rag-picker's Court, as this was the profession of most of its residents. In 1879, William Allen Rogers drew the rag-strewn courtyard for Harper's Weekly as part of a series of engravings focused on inner-city life.
In the 1862 novel Les Misérables, the character Vargouleme is a ragpicker. He considers himself fortunate because, unlike many on the streets of Paris, he has a profession.
"Original Rags" is an 1899 musical medley for piano, an early example of the Ragtime genre, that makes reference to rag picking, as well as a pun
