noun
ragpicking; ragpicker
Refers to the historical occupation of collecting rags and scrap materials, or the person who does it. Often associated with pre-modern or early modern Japan.
江戸時代には屑拾いが街を回って古布を集めていた。
In the Edo period, ragpickers went around town collecting old cloth.
彼の祖父は若い頃、屑拾いをして生
His grandfather made a living as a ragpicker when he was young.
Modern term for waste collection or recycling, not limited to rags and not referring to a person.
Specifically refers to collection of used paper, a subset of what a ragpicker might collect.
Compound of 屑 (くず, 'scrap, waste') and 拾い (ひろい, 'picking up'), the noun form of 拾う (ひろう, 'to pick up').