“Trash Influencers”: Brazilians who hit social media by showing Americans littering

The meeting in São Paulo mirrors the phenomenon among Brazilians for videos about trash in the United States.

There are dozens of YouTube channels and Instagram profiles showing this common practice in the country, belonging to entire families.

“Brazilians are very interested because Americans waste a lot of things, It’s a waste that will amaze you. “There are many new things,” Alessandra Gomez of Espirito Santo says she is “dumpster diving” in the state of Massachusetts.

She has already collected quilts, sofas, tables and lots of food.

In the United States, in general, the activity is not illegal, but it does navigate a gray area.

In 1988, California v. Greenwood, the nation’s highest court ruled that there is no “privacy” in litter left on sidewalks.

But still Specific rules regarding dumpsters may vary among states and cities.

For example, trespassing on private property, if there is a sign that vandalism is prohibited, or if the dumpster is locked, that activity may be considered illegal.

Trespassing will be charged if you enter these areas without permission. There may also be complaints of public nuisances or safety hazards to the person doing this.

In the videos recorded by the Brazilians, it is usually impossible to tell whether they are trespassing on property or breaking barriers.

At least one of them told BBC Brazil that he had been detained by police after he reported it to a shop and had to pay bail to face a court hearing.

Videos showing Brazilians “getting active” attract more viewers; Most of them ask store employees to leave or allow them to continue.

“The police have surprised me many times,” says Andre da Silva, 49, who moved to Rhode Island from Rio de Janeiro 23 years ago and now has more than 300,000 followers on Facebook alone with his videos.

“But they usually ask me what I do, and I explain that I take videos. They’re actually surprised by the things we find.”

Although this phenomenon is recent in social networks in countries like Brazil or El Salvador, this activity has been a regular part of Americans for decades, explains Jeff Ferrell, a sociologist and professor at Texas Christian University (TCU) who has focused on this phenomenon for 50 years as a researcher or by “diving” into garbage containers.

Author of a book on this type of activity titled “Empire of Scrounge: Inside the Urban Underground of Dumpster Diving, Trash Picking, and Street Scavenging.” Ferrell He survived for eight months on what he found in a garbage can.

He explains that the profile of container seekers is different. Some, like him, let themselves be carried away by ideology.

They may be so-called freecons, who shun consumption as a principle of life and survive on throwaways, or charities that distribute these items to homeless or needy people.

“A lot of people believe in redistributing resources. It’s taking from the rich and giving to the poor, because the rich’s trash usually contains high-quality materials that are still very useful,” says the researcher.

But immigrants, many of whom lack the necessary documents to live in the U.S., make up an ever-relevant group in this scavenger hunt, Ferrell says.

Alessandra Gomez came to America five years ago, at the age of 19, in search of a better future for herself and her less than 2-year-old son.

He left Ecoporanga, Espirito Santo, where he had a conflicted relationship with his simple family in the rural part of the town, and crossed the border from Mexico to the United States.

When he came to Massachusetts, He says he saw a lot of people dumpster diving.

“That’s when I first made a video, showing some of the pots and dishes I got. The video went viral and I saw that it was a sector with a lot of viewers,” says Alessandra, who focuses on store and supermarket containers because many of them reject new products.

According to Gómez, Brazilians who watch his videos are divided into two groups: those who rebel against American consumerism and waste culture and are fascinated by the products and those who emigrate to do the same.

“Divers” into the trash They learn each region’s collection day and are alerted when there is a renewal in stock of a shop.

Andre da Silva, 49 and from Rio de Janeiro, explains that when there is a new collection of bedding, for example, stores tend to throw out duvets, pillowcases and sheets from last season.

Andre, a former dancer from Brazil and a dishwasher in America, manages his time between his demolition company and searching for garbage containers.

It was while working at a store six years ago that he realized how many new things Americans throw away.

“When I got to the dumpster, I was scared,” Andre says.

“Everything was new, the packaging, the expensive towels, the pillows. I called the store manager because I thought they had made a mistake. “He told me it was all junk because they were losing money keeping it in stock.

Andre had to hire a truck to collect the amount of material thrown away that day.

For nearly 70-year-old professor Jeff Ferrell, who continues to scavenge for other people’s trash in Texas, America’s relentless production of consumer goods encourages waste as the world’s preeminent capitalist nation.

“It’s inherent in consumer culture: every time a fashion style changes or new technologies are introduced, there’s a lot of waste,” Ferrell says.

“The more we orient our economy around the production and consumption of goods, the more waste we inevitably produce.”

Apart from objects, Food is also an important part of content aggregators-producers’ work.

Today, Alessandra and her husband focus on scavenging garbage containers at food markets. In fact, it was the aspect that affected the family the most.

“There are too many good things to consume that are thrown away. Some have already passed the expiration date, but they are still useful. “It’s shocking,” he says.

U.S. According to the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), “Manufacturers provide dates so that consumers and retailers can decide when foods are of best quality.”

“Except for infant formula, dates are not an indicator of product safety and are not required by federal law,” FSIS states on its website. But a lot more is wasted.

According to Alessandra, her waste sorting activity earns her between US$200 and US$300 a month from the product she sells.

Video viewers can earn more than $100. Her husband is also working as a painter.

Music players, bags, expensive toys, jewelry, watches… the videos that attract Brazilians’ attention are precisely the expensive items that end up in Americans’ trash cans.

Comments are limited “I am amazed by so many wonderful things” to “My dream is to have these things, I want to get there.”

Researcher Jeff Ferrell, who has already discovered the luxury brand Tiffany cufflinks and diamond bracelets, says the importance given to brands and the value of products in social networks can distract from the philosophy behind the container diving movement.

“I find it ironic that people are looking for consumer goods in garbage cans. In other words, they’re trying to turn waste into a consumer lifestyle,” he says.

But Brazilians also gain followers through the donations they make.

Andre da Silva explains that he donates everything he finds to needy families or churches in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Alessandra, who takes care of two children, distributes donations to immigrant families in the neighborhood and her own consumption.

“I’m not ashamed to be in the trash. I come from a very poor family, so whatever I can use, I make use of,” she says, adding that she will also publish.

He says he has “trust in God” and will continue to do so.

In the area where you live, many people have become hostile to litterers because many people dump their garbage on the sidewalk.

For decades of exploiting American waste, “There’s another irony” in the practice’s digital success in the US.

“What’s the key to being a good garbage collector? You have to be careful and not draw attention. Never post on social media,” advises Ferrell.