I am the kind of person who likes to live simple, you know, keeping it small, and because of that my purse is usually no bigger than my hand. There I can carry my phone, my little bag that I use as a wallet, and my keys. The umbrella to protect me from the sun I hold in my hand.

But sometimes, when I’m on the street, and I eat something, the lack of space in my purse becomes a problem because, and pay attention to that, there's no trash cans in São Paulo.

If the streets where you are walking are more fancy, or if the place receives a lot of “potential buyers”, the probability of you finding a can to throw your trash will be bigger - and I’m talking about public spaces here, guys.

The situation is bad, but not only because those responsible for the city maintenance don't care. People in São Paulo can give a hard time to the infrastructure destroying the trash cans as an “act of rebellion”, which is something I can’t understand because in my head, if everyone took care of the city “things”, we would live in a more beautiful place.

I wonder how the trash situation is in other cities in Brazil, because here in São Paulo people just throw it on the street when they are walking or out the window of a car or a bus. Even if they see a trash can, the street will still have their preference - but let’s not generalize, not everybody does that.

And people throw things in the river too. Couches, fridges, cars… You know, it’s not because the river is polluted that it’s ok to use it as a “disposal place” for what you don’t want, but they do it anyway.

So consider yourself warned, and keep an extra space in your bag for your trash until the next trash can crosses your way.

Anne Rios

amodafala@gmail.com