Franklin Figaroa and Carlos Bámaca are part of a new frontier, the “green economy.” They are among the “green collar” workers Americans have been hearing so much about, but they hardly feel special. Franklin and Carlos work in a recycling plant in Dundalk. They spend five days a week working on an assembly line, picking non-recyclables from the “mix” before it heads to the compacter. It might be “green,” but it is not so clean. “Sometimes, half the stuff we get coming in with the paper is actually garbage,” Carlos explains.
