Modernising Brazil’s waste-picking trade

EVERY night Gabriel Cazuza drags his two-wheeled, metal-framed carroça through the streets of São Paulo collecting aluminium, paper, cardboard and other recyclables for sale to scrap merchants. He is one of tens of thousands of catadores in Brazil’s biggest city, plying a trade that has employed poor Brazilians since the 19th century. Brazil’s last census, in 2010, counted 387,910 waste-pickers nationwide; that number may be too low. The work is back-breaking and unappreciated. “People don’t like to see us,” says Mr Cazuza.

The developers of Cataki, an app, hope to change that. Since July it has been matching people who have rubbish with catadores operating in their neighbourhoods. Catadores cart off unwanted non-recyclables like sofas and televisions as well. On the Cataki map their carroças show up Uber-style as purple icons. Thiago Mundano, a street artist who is the brain behind Cataki, insists it is more like Tinder (because it takes no cut from the catadores). On future versions, people will post photos of their rubbish, and catadores will accept or reject it by swiping right or left. Photos of catadores will make it still more Tinder-like, Mr Mundano hopes.