Under strong sun and intense heat, Saturday morning in Caxias do Sul was a lot of work to leave the green area of Rua Irmo Edo Kayser, in Bairro Bom Pastor, again looking like a preserved natural space, instead of a clandestine dump.
The group of volunteers made up of municipal employees – including participants from the Mayor’s Office, Municipal Environment Secretariat (SEMMA), Municipal Guard and CODECA, several of them on their day off or on vacation – and members of the Zero Waste collective relied on reciprocity of the community, which also engaged in the task, to extract almost 10 tons of waste discarded at the site in an irregular manner.
In just over three months, it was the second similar action carried out at the same point. The difference, according to who collaborated with the cleaning on both occasions, was less due to the volume than the profile of the discarded material.
“Before there was a lot of heavy garbage. Remains of construction material, furniture… Now, at least, we saw that it was minor stuff, left along the way, such as plastic packaging remains, some glass, cardboard… I make a point of coming to help because I have a feeling for this place . I remember how it was before and I wish it could go back to that way. If everyone does their part, both the government and the population, we can have a beautiful space to enjoy here”, commented the president of the Association of Neighborhood Residents (AMOB) Bom Pastor, Marinês Pegoraro.
Currently, a project to recover and give ecological and leisure use to the green area is already underway by the Municipality. But until that time arrives, awareness and a responsible attitude are the neighborhood’s best allies to preserve the collective heritage.
“The situation is still not ideal, but it has been much worse. A sign that people are realizing the need to take care of the place and even to supervise the actions of those who act inappropriately. When we see that the work has been much less complex now than in the previous cleaning, we realize that there is an evolution in the way the population is seeing and protecting this space”, evaluated the municipal secretary of the Environment, João Osório Martins.
Under strong sun and intense heat, Saturday morning in Caxias do Sul was a lot of work to leave the green area of Rua Irmo Edo Kayser, in Bairro Bom Pastor, again looking like a preserved natural space, instead of a clandestine dump.
The group of volunteers made up of municipal employees – including participants from the Mayor’s Office, Municipal Environment Secretariat (SEMMA), Municipal Guard and CODECA, several of them on their day off or on vacation – and members of the Zero Waste collective relied on reciprocity of the community, which also engaged in the task, to extract almost 10 tons of waste discarded at the site in an irregular manner.
In just over three months, it was the second similar action carried out at the same point. The difference, according to who collaborated with the cleaning on both occasions, was less due to the volume than the profile of the discarded material.
“Before there was a lot of heavy garbage. Remains of construction material, furniture… Now, at least, we saw that it was minor stuff, left along the way, such as plastic packaging remains, some glass, cardboard… I make a point of coming to help because I have a feeling for this place . I remember how it was before and I wish it could go back to that way. If everyone does their part, both the government and the population, we can have a beautiful space to enjoy here”, commented the president of the Association of Neighborhood Residents (AMOB) Bom Pastor, Marinês Pegoraro.
Currently, a project to recover and give ecological and leisure use to the green area is already underway by the Municipality. But until that time arrives, awareness and a responsible attitude are the neighborhood’s best allies to preserve the collective heritage.
“The situation is still not ideal, but it has been much worse. A sign that people are realizing the need to take care of the place and even to supervise the actions of those who act inappropriately. When we see that the work has been much less complex now than in the previous cleaning, we realize that there is an evolution in the way the population is seeing and protecting this space”, evaluated the municipal secretary of the Environment, João Osório Martins.
