In a house in the Jardim América neighborhood, in the Barão Geraldo district, the recyclable material collected on the streets is more than a source of income for trans collectors Dill Vasquez and Katrina Vasquez. What began as a response to the prejudice that prevented them from obtaining formal jobs, became, in the hands of the sisters, a learning opportunity and an environmental cause.
Part of the sisters' work was recorded by the team from Unicamp's Executive Secretariat for Communication (SEC), accompanied by Julia Leite Cassa, a graduate student in Social Sciences at the University, member of the Technological Incubator of Popular Cooperatives (ITCP). ITCP is an extension project linked to the Dean of Extension and Culture (Proec) through which Unicamp works with recyclable material collectors.
On the first day of visiting the collectors' homes, Dill and Katrina showed the scraps of fabric found in the trash that they transform into customized clothes and, therefore, in addition to being collectors, they also identify themselves as designers and models. In the second, the team followed the work of waste pickers on the streets of the neighborhood.
The search for recyclable material also brought another type of learning, this coming from observing the multiple characteristics of discarded objects: the type of material, the sales value for cooperatives, the possibilities of reuse and the dangers involved in the activity (such as, for example, example, when these objects contain toxic waste).
The sisters realized that garbage disposal in dumpsters is often done inappropriately, mixing organic and recyclable waste and contaminating materials that could be reused or sold to cooperatives. In many cases, this inadequate disposal generates waste whose destination can only be landfills.
Working on the streets made the sisters aware that the population lacks knowledge about the correct way to dispose of garbage and there is a lack of action on the part of public authorities to promote this awareness.
One of the options to change this reality would be, according to them, the valorization of the work of self-employed collectors, who depend on recycling to live and therefore can be agents of environmental protection. “Our objective is not to criminalize the population, but to educate the population”, says Dill, who today has the advice and support of ITCP to prepare a book and a podcast.
The partnership between the collectors and ITCP will allow the dissemination of information on how recyclable material should be correctly disposed of, highlighting its potential for reuse, as in the case of fabrics – which Dill and Katrina's creativity transformed into unique pieces. The sisters also hope that the opportunity to publicize topics related to environmental education is also a way to reduce the prejudice they face daily when working on the streets.
Watch part 1 of the article A life project for trans waste pickers.
Watch part 2 of the article A life project for trans waste pickers.
