Pope Francis praised the work of “cartoneros” — poor people who sift through garbage to find recyclable goods — as good for the environment in a video recorded Dec. 5 that was released this week at an annual meeting of trash recyclers of Argentina, the Associated Press reported on Friday.
The pope also denounced the world’s “throw-away culture” and made the case that food that is unnecessarily tossed out each day could feed the hungry and poor.
Francis celebrated his 77th birthday at the Vatican on Tuesday by with four homeless people while attending the morning Mass.
