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RDM | Step 7 | Sorting and baling material for market.

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Fabian operates the plant's baling machine. He is also responsible for sorting various materials, such as plastics, and stacking them for shipment. There is a moment during Fabian's photovoice interview where the contrivance of the method becomes apparent: when asked about why he is wearing eye protection but not hearing protection he replies that he was simply having the pictures taken quickly and not actually operating the machine.

When it comes to his role in sorting plastics, there are broad categories based on colour and type. At one point Fabian laughs at my naive questions about how he learned to sort the plastics out. He jokes that he learned his colours in school. Yet, while it might be relatively easy to discern different plastics with only a little bit training, the joke points to his and my very different knowledge bases. While I could easily sort plastics by colour, it would take some learning on my part to sort plastics by type or quality. The latter forms of sorting are crucial for obtaining sufficiently homogeneous loads of plastics demanded by different markets since mixed loads lead to lower prices or even rejected shipments.

Fabian is shown with a data sheet he fills in to record processing data. He passes the data on to another member of RDM , Sylvia. There is an important moment here in that what happens to the data seems opaque to Fabian--he is not clear on what the data are used for, only that they are passed on to Sylvia. It is a brief insight into how RDM could be organized differently such that everyone working their had a clear understanding of the overall business model.

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  1. RDM Josh Lepawsky

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