The world’s largest aluminum recycler, Novelis bought raw material from a company accused of pay with bottles of cachaça for the work of drug addicts who work as waste pickers in Cracolândia, in the central region of the capital of São Paulo.
The irregularities were found by Operation Salus et Dignitas, carried out on August 6 by the Special Action Group to Combat Organized Crime (Gaeco), of the Public Ministry of the State of São Paulo (MP-SP). The task force also included federal agencies.
According to the investigations, Minas Reciclagem used alcoholic beverages as a form of remuneration both for the collectors who worked directly at the company and for those who brought aluminum and copper to sell. In the case of copper, much of the material is stolen from the municipality’s public lighting system.
Documents accessed by Repórter Brasil show that Novelis made 53 deposits, totaling R$ 432 thousand, in the individual account of one of the partners of Minas Reciclagem. Located in the República neighborhood, the shed is close to the “flow”, as the point of sale and consumption of crack in downtown São Paulo is known.
Novelis made 53 deposits in the personal account of one of the partners of Minas Reciclagem. He was detained during Operation Salus et Dignitas, for illegal possession of a weapon.
“Although the company promotes an image of concern with sustainability, the elements brought reveal that it acquires materials from recyclers and irregular junkyards that operate in the central region of São Paulo,” says an excerpt from Gaeco’s report on Novelis’ performance.
What Novelis says
The multinational is part of a business group based in India and operates mainly in the aviation, automotive and beverage sectors. Among its customers, some of the world’s best-known brands stand out, such as Boeing, Ferrari and Coca-Cola.
Contacted by Repórter Brasil, Novelis issued a statement stating that it does not comment on ongoing investigations and lawsuits, and that any manifestation will be made exclusively in the records of the inquiry.
“The company reiterates that it follows the strictest standards of ethics and integrity and has a robust system of registration and approval of suppliers,” the text states.
The report also contacted the law firm Torres, Falavigna e Vainer Advogados, responsible for Novelis’ defense, but did not receive a response until the closing of this article. Those responsible for Minas Reciclagem were not found. The text will be updated if the positions are sent.
Waste pickers sleeping in feces
Authorities discovered a system that used drug addicts as cheap labor in the fifteen junkyards and recycling centers targeted for search and seizure in Operation Salus et Dignitas.
The Minas Reciclagem shed was among the establishments inspected. At the scene, three people were arrested for illegal possession of weapons and ammunition – among them, Cláudio Henrique Silva, a partner in the company with a 33% stake.
The investigation had access to invoices for alcoholic beverages purchased by Minas Reciclagem. One of them, worth R$ 4,572, refers to 1,440 bottles of 500 ml of Cachaça do Barril, a “cousin” of Corote, a popular brand of brandy. “They [the collectors] sometimes pay with pinga, sometimes with coins,” explains Eduardo Roos Neto, a Gaeco prosecutor.
Invoice shows purchase of a large amount of brandy by Minas Reciclagem; According to Gaeco, the drink was used as a means of payment for chemically dependent waste pickers.
In general, in the recyclers and junkyards inspected, there was no protective equipment for the collectors to handle cans, scrap metal and copper wires.
In one of the sheds, the hygiene conditions were especially precarious. “There was feces where some of them slept,” adds Juliano Carvalho Atoji, also a Gaeco prosecutor. At the site, one of the collectors was asked about his daily workload. “Until the body can handle it, until I fall,” he replied.
The August 6 operation was preceded by an investigation conducted over almost a year by Gaeco into criminal activities in Cracolândia. Among the recorded material, a video caught the attention of prosecutors.
On the sidewalk of a shed on Avenida Duque de Caxias, a man – dressed in a shirt of the Brazilian national team, shorts and flip-flops – tried to tear off, with his own teeth, the plastic cover of the wires thrown on the ground.
“They are the maneuvering mass for these illicit activities to be able to function and produce profit,” concludes prosecutor Roos Neto.
(*) By José Dacauaziliquá, edited by Carlos Juliano Barros, via Repórter Brasil.
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