Waste not, Want not?

Human beings waste so much, that animal species have evolved to live off our waste. Squirrels, rats, and crows are the most visible, but their are plenty of animals that thrive on the waste we create. Recently I have started to notice the humans that thrive on the things we throw away or cast aside as "waste". I'm not talking about the homeless man rummaging through the trash to find something to eat, or the dumpster divers looking for a rare treasure someone tosses to get rid of, I'm talking about the people who make a living from our waste.

The notion to recycle has been in the American mainstream conscience since that native American guy shed a tear and told us to keep America beautiful in that commercial back in the 70's. Now days most people who live in cities have a sophisticated system of recycling that makes them sort the recyclables from the perishable waste. We have come a long way over the past 40 years and many products we use have a percentage or is 100 percent recycled material. Environmentalists today are focused on reducing the production and use of materials, like banning plastic bottles and grocery bags. This progressive view is not just about keeping America beautiful, but reducing climate change and cleaning up the atmosphere. The people on the front line of this movement are often invisible and marginalized in the US. In other countries like Brazil and South Africa, they are becoming part of their countries economy and environmental movements.
In Brazil they are called Catadores and in Uruguay they are called clasificadores. They are the men and woman who roam

the streets collecting glass and metal objects to recycle for money. For many people this is their job. They work it from whenever to whenever like the average working stiff. They don't get the credit or respect others do, and are often mistaken for "homeless" or "beggars" or the label we put on the people we consider "less than" in this society. The fear of poverty is strong in this economy, but the stigma is crumbling and falling to the rise of the idea of waste becoming big business. The people you see collecting cans or bottles in trucks and shopping carts, may be on the cusp of the next economic revolution.
I was walking down 8th avenue on the upper west side of Manhattan with a empty water bottle in my hand , and this well kept looking woman walked up to me and asked me for the bottle. I gave it to her and she thanked me and proceeded to rummage through a trash bin looking for more plastic. After my experience with this woman I started to notice just how many people collect "waste" for money, and how easy the picken's are. I'm currently living in the San Fernando Valley which is a text book example of the ills of suburban sprawl. I see countless people roaming the streets hauling carts and filling pickups with recyclable items they collect and exchange for money. They don't have to dig in dumpsters or cans to get them, they can just pick things up off the ground or ask strangers walking by. They remind me of the urban wildlife we call pests, living off the things we through away. Just like these animals, they are becoming a very important part of our society and becoming more visible. Some people look at these people the same way they look at crows in their garbage. I don't look at them as pests, but pioneers that may be leading us to a new economic prosperity in the future.