‘The bad part is the people who look down on those who live off the garbage’

Four years ago, when Adilson César Alves, 52, abandoned his routine as a street vendor, as street vendors who work without authorization on trains in São Paulo are called, he had no idea he would become a cart driver. Going through the weak recovery of the economy after 2015 and 2016 and the crisis caused by Covid-19, he feels that competition between collectors for cardboard, aluminum —and the coveted copper— has only increased.

“Before, we always quickly found something valuable to sell in cooperatives and associations, but now we have to dig more and more. My wife and a special son depend on this work, it’s for them that I join forces to leave home every day. days, but I see more and more homeless people who see recyclables as the only alternative for survival”, he says.

In order not to be trapped in a cooperative, he saved money to buy his own wagon, for around R$ 1,000. When thinking about what work he would like to do in the future, Alves gets sad.

“I have a problem with my eyesight, which ends up making it difficult to work in some professions and age has become increasingly heavy, carrying the cart full of material around the city, for ten hours a day, requires effort. But the possibility of retiring is more difficult. harder than finding a handful of copper to sell.”

Upon seeing the report talking to other teamsters, José Roberto Cicilinski, 52, approaches as if he were about to tell a secret. Anxious, he asks for his name to be registered, hoping to be able to buy a wagon to work without having to borrow a vehicle from an NGO.

Borrowed wagons usually require the sale to the owner of the equipment, who does not always pay the best price.

“I know a boy in the favela of Moinho [região central de São Paulo] who sells one for R$1,500. It even seems cheap, but not for someone who can only earn R$ 70 a day.” A resident of Guarujá, on the coast of São Paulo, he left his family behind. In São Paulo, he lived on the street more than once and today he shares a space borrowed from a junkyard downtown.

“The work of a teamster isn’t bad. The good part is being able to walk around the whole city and put your thoughts in place; the bad part is the people who look down on those who live off the garbage.”

Next to a recycling point of sale in Pinheiros, the couple Luís Fernando, 48, and Priscila dos Santos Maciel, 41, proudly show off the colorful wagon they pull through the west side of the city. Born in Rio Claro (inland São Paulo), he says he managed to build a shack with recycling money, which can reach R$ 200 on a good day.

“I was a house painter and I never lacked for work — I just lacked freedom. Those who make a living know that it takes time to get paid, that the painter is always the last person in line to earn money. And it still depends on partnering with a mason who don’t exploit yourself.”

As teamsters, they say they are driven by hope. “We leave the house and never have a bad day, we always find something good to sell”, she says, with a wide smile on her face. “When he gets discouraged, I’m here to push us forward.”

Street work is not hard just because of the 230 kg of material they carry in the cart or because of the uncertainty of the self-employed routine. They even had two wagons stolen and decided to stop taking the vehicle to the region of Luz or Avenida Paulista, which they consider more dangerous. They built a small house under a bridge on the Pinheiros waterfront and decided to focus on looking for recyclables on the west side of the city.

“Vehicles are very popular on the street, so you can’t leave them parked anywhere. We even installed mirrors on the cart, to make the job easier, and it delights everyone. It’s our pride and we don’t feel tired, despite being a heavy work,” he says.

Marcio Teixeira Lima 47, from Rio de Janeiro, crosses the mirrored buildings in the Vila Olímpia region with his wagon, while looking for a local junkyard. With a wife and a stepson who depend on the service, he doesn’t have a weekend anymore. He leaves the Paraisópolis favela and goes out every day hauling equipment.

“I got to work as a cleaning assistant in a company for a year and three months, but I didn’t like it. It seemed that payday never came and, for those who have a family, it’s important to have a little money on hand every day. “

Carrying cardboard bales, metal cans and sanitary ware onto the wagon, he says he has a good eye for finding material that can earn a little more money. “The good part of this here is that we feel useful, the city is better and cleaner with our work. We are still a little invisible, but I think that is changing”, he says.