Trash cart superheroes

Our world has many superheroes.

But they have the worst of all superpowers:
invisibility

For example, Catadores,

workers who collect recyclable materials for a living

Catadores emerge from social inequlity

unemployment, and the abundance of solid waste

from the deficiency of the waste

collection system

cat adores provide a heavy, honest and essential work

that benefits the entire population

but they are not acknowledged for it

here in brazil, they collect

90 percent of all the waste

that's actually recyclced

most of the catadores work independentally

picking waste on the streets

and selling to junk yards

at very low prices

they may collect over 300 kilos

in their bags, shopping carts

bicycles, and cajosas

cajosas are carts built from wood or metal

and found in several streets in brazil.

much like graffiti and street art

and this is how i first these marganizalised
superheroes

i am a graffiti artist and activist

and my art is social, environmental and political

in nature

in 2007, i took my work beyond walls

and onto the cajosas

as a new word of support for my message

but at this time, giving voice to the catadores

by adding art in humor to the cause

it became more appealing

which helped call attention

to the catadores

and improve their self esteem

and now they are famous on the street