Roberto da Silva is a resident of the Sao Paulo state in Brazil, and being unemployed, he visited a recycle center within his city. From that moment he took advantage of the opportunity for commercializing the waste of people.
The answer of Roberto was positive, because he started to collect recyclable street materials, constructing his own boat of wood, for collecting the trash of the Tieté River a “polluted paradise” and it is a proof of untidy urbanization for nature.
More than ten years ago, Roberto da Silva lives in this reality full of its own effort, because he wakes up at seven o´clock in the morning and works for 12 hours continuous, he pays transport and a helper once a week, with that money he maintains his family, in a simple house and far away from the urban zone.
"Lagartão" like he is known in the colony, he earns money and helps the environment, being an example for our society, collecting pet and waste that flloats in rivers, winning the respect of many people because of his labour.
"Lo que hago es una gota de agua en medio de un océano. Pero sin ella, el océano será menor ".
Madre Teresa de Calcuta
We invite you to watch the documental:
“Ganarse la vida en el río más contaminado de Brasil”