Former Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva assured that society should be more sensitive to recycling, claiming that the environmental issue goes beyond the Amazon.
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On a visit paid to the Integrated Recycling Complex in the Federal District (DF), Lula insisted that "it is not only the Amazon that is an environmental issue. The environment is the place where we live and work."
He said that as he approached the conveyor belt on which the waste was passing, he thought, "it is not possible for people to collect all garbage. On that conveyor belt there are pieces of sausage, toilet paper, tampons. Doesn't society have any sensitivity?"
The founder of the Workers' Party also pointed out that, in addition to being fundamental actors for the environment, recyclers are workers who support their families with their labor.
"People can't just throw garbage anywhere, thinking that later some fool will pick it up. I don't want for my children what I don't want for those who will pick up the garbage. If I have a minimum of care for my children's hygiene, why shouldn't I worry about who picks up the garbage?" he indicated.
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During his speech, the former labor leader appealed to society and its leaders to help collectors and not treat them as if they were something pernicious or bad.
"Don't treat those people as if they were objects, treat them as human beings, with respect. They do for the city what you can't do. They pick up the garbage that you, irresponsibly, do not pick up," he pointed out.
As people were shouting "Lula President 2022," the former union leader exchanged views on Thursday at the plant with workers, mostly women, who were separating recyclable items from the garbage on a conveyor belt.
The former president regained his political rights in March after a Federal Supreme Court judge overturned all his convictions, a decision that also allowed him to run for the presidency next year.