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Recycling in Kakuma Refugee Camp: Waste into Opportunity

Kakuma Refugee CampThe Kakuma refugee camp in northeastern Kenya, established in 1992, has long grappled with significant waste management challenges. Originally designed to accommodate 70,000 residents, the camp’s population swelled to 183,000 by 2015. This increase has put immense pressure on resources and the camp’s infrastructure. This overcrowding has led to a variety of environmental issues, including inadequate liquid and solid waste disposal, creating unsanitary conditions and posing health risks to the camp’s inhabitants.

Several factors compound the camp’s waste management problems. The demand for wood fuel has led to deforestation in the surrounding areas. The reliance on diesel power generators contributes to air pollution. The shortage of potable water for both humans and livestock has exacerbated sanitation concerns. The lack of disposal space in the overcrowded camp has also created a pressing need for innovative waste management solutions.

However, amid these challenges, community-led recycling initiatives work to protect the camp’s natural environment and the inhabitants’ livelihoods. One such initiative is the Fraternity for Development Integrated (FRADI), founded by Raphael Basemi, a Congolese refugee who arrived in Kakuma in 2009.

FRADI

Basemi’s journey from a refugee with nothing but a bag of clothes and education certificates to the founder of a thriving recycling enterprise exemplifies the resilience and ingenuity of the camp’s residents. Established in 2013, FRADI has transformed the waste management landscape in Kakuma. FRADI’s approach is comprehensive, addressing not only waste management but also other refugee limitations, such as language barriers and lack of technical skills.

The Impact of FRADI’s Work

Since November 2019, the organization has recycled more than 10 tons of plastic, significantly improving living conditions in the camp. FRADI’s recycling initiative has been met with overwhelming enthusiasm, with 2,000 applicants vying for positions in the program after the first call for volunteers. In the last three years, the organization has created more than 500 jobs for refugees and local community members, providing much-needed income opportunities.

FRADI’s Plastic Recycling System and Products

The collection process involves individuals gathering plastic and nonbiodegradable materials. The collected waste is then categorized and sent to a central processing facility in Kakuma. Two specialized machines recycle plastics into new products through melting and reforming. Thirty-eight tons of semi-recycled materials have been sold to Nairobi-based companies so far.

Its product range includes everyday items such as pegs, buttons, rulers, plates and cups, all made from recycled plastic. These products are sold in a shop at the Kakuma incubation center, a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)-funded economic development initiative supporting start-up businesses.

The Future of Kakuma Refugee Camp

The future looks promising for waste management initiatives in Kakuma. Kenya’s signing of the Refugee Act in November 2021 has ushered in new policies supporting refugee economic success and inclusion. This legislative change has enabled FRADI to expand its operations, reaching out to larger companies that collect plastic for recycling.

Moving forward, the success of FRADI and similar initiatives offers a blueprint for addressing waste management challenges in refugee camps. These community-led efforts not only improve environmental conditions but also create economic opportunities. Furthermore, they foster a sense of purpose among refugees. As Basemi aptly puts it, “When I see the volunteers bringing in the plastic they have collected, I see a community that is coming together for a greater cause.” 

With continued support and innovation, the transformation of waste into opportunity in Kakuma serves as an inspiring model for sustainable development in challenging environments.

– Lauren Thompson

Lauren is based in San Francisco, CA, USA and focuses on Good News and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Alleviating Poverty in Guatemala City Garbage Dump

Guatemala City Garbage DumpGuatemala is characterized by its diverse and vibrant landscapes and equally rich cultural mosaic. However, with an estimated 55% of the population surviving on less than $6.85 a day, poverty frequently drains the color from everyday life there. According to the World Bank, limited access to services and opportunities is one reason why Guatemala’s steady economic growth, which has made the Guatemalan economy the largest in Central America, has yet to lead to significant poverty reduction. The poverty rate is the third highest in Latin America and the Caribbean and nowhere is the issue more visible than in the community surrounding the Guatemala City garbage dump.

Life in Landfill

A country of rolling mountain ranges and lush tropical forests, Guatemala is known as the Land of Eternal Spring. The Guatemala City garbage dump is an open-air landfill. An estimated 60,000 people live in extreme poverty along the periphery of the 40-acre landfill. According to a recent article by the environmental magazine Mongabay, underdeveloped infrastructure allows for build-ups of methane gas that ignites deadly fires, for waste to amass into mountains that shift underfoot. The surrounding neighborhood is rife with dangers and devoid of opportunity. Many inhabitants survive by scavenging through hazardous mounds of waste in search of materials for resale.

How Safe Passage Is Clearing Pathways Out of the Dump

Safe Passage is a nongovernmental organization (NGO) that helps families in this community free themselves from cyclical poverty. With the average adult resident having yet to progress beyond the fourth grade, the organization works towards long-term development. This is achieved by providing children with free quality education.

Within its full-day school, Safe Passage employs an experimental methodology called “Expeditionary Learning,” which integrates off-site activities into an immersive curriculum focusing on life skills and citizenship as well as traditional academic disciplines. Creating experiences away from the dump shows students how the knowledge they gather at school can be applied to real life. With this approach designed for maximum engagement, 90% of the organization’s students graduate in the ninth grade. In contrast, the national retention rate between the sixth and 10th grades is estimated at 42%.

Students navigating the transition between school and adult life can access vocational guidance, support with university and job applications, and training and employment opportunities with Safe Passage’s partner organizations through the “Próximo Paso” program. In 2023 alone, 32 students started vocational training and 14 began the university enrolment process. Furthermore, with Guatemalan schools opening for just four hours a day. The “Oportunidades” program offers students from other institutions the opportunity to participate in various extracurricular activities. This, in turn, provides a refuge from the chaos of life in the neighborhood and from the grip of its gangs.

Forging Futures with Creamos

Creamos was established in 2008 as an entrepreneurial initiative when a group of women began selling jewelry made from upcycled materials and were able to leave a life of scavenging in the dump behind them. It has since evolved into an NGO that helps others surmount the systemic barriers facing the community. Although its services extend to all in need of them, Creamos focuses especially on the neighborhood’s women. The women are subject to the converging forces of poverty and gender-based inequalities and violence. On a national level, Guatemala’s female labor force participation rate is the lowest in Latin America and the Caribbean at just 32% as of 2018. Similarly, the femicide rate is among the highest in the world, with 1.6 deaths per 100,000 women in 2021.

In 2020, Creamos introduced its Accelerated Education Program. It steers adult learners, many of whom were forced out of school and into work at the dump by a lack of resources, through a compressed academic curriculum and toward a high-school diploma. It also offers flexible scheduling and free childcare. As of 2022, an incredible 434 individuals had re-enrolled in education with Creamos. Furthermore, in 2022, the organization implemented its Workforce Development Program, through which students can access vocational training courses and internships with numerous partner organizations. They can specialize in various sectors, all selected to match current labor trends. In 2022 alone, the program served 250 people.

Holistic Approaches

In alignment with their shared mission of personal and community development, Safe Passage and Creamos provide various health care services. Safe Passage operates an on-site infirmary that treats health complaints and fosters long-term community well-being through education. It also has a social services team and offers pastoral care and a support program for at-risk families.

Epidemic levels of gender-based violence plague the community surrounding the Guatemala City garbage dump. To help address this, Creamos seeks to create safe spaces for vulnerable women. This includes providing a range of emotional care services operated by licensed psychologists, such as specialized support groups and a program designed to fortify family dynamics.

Looking Ahead

Guatemala has a human capital index of 0.46. This indicates that children born there today are projected to attain just 46% of their lifetime potential. However, organizations like Safe Passage and Creamos are working determinedly to equalize access to resources. Safe Passage is guiding children from the fringes of society inward.

Creamos, meaning “we create” in Spanish, began as a jewelry-making initiative but now strives to provide marginalized people with the tools they need to manufacture a life for themselves. Both organizations are creators at their cores: creators of safe spaces, opportunities and hope for a future where all of its people can feel Guatemala’s vitality.

– Leila Powles

Leila is based in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK and focuses on Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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CIRCLE Alliance: Increasing Circular Plastic Economies

CIRCLE AllianceJune 6, 2024, marked the launch of the new CIRCLE Alliance collaboration. The public company Unilever, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the private organization Ernst and Young (EY) have all partnered to create the CIRCLE Alliance. These organizations are working with entrepreneurs and small businesses that are already established in the plastic waste sector.

They aim to find solutions to scale the work already being done through their $21 million investment. Through this and by focusing on increasing circular plastics economies, CIRCLE will work to reduce the use and waste of plastic products. CIRCLE’s initial plan is to launch projects in four key countries: India, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Within these countries, CIRCLE will focus efforts on those who already perform most of the collection and disposal of waste – women.

Plastic in CIRCLE’s Key Countries

  • India produces the most plastic waste in the world, behind the United States (U.S.) and the European Union (EU), with 26,000 tons generated daily. It is also the leader in polymer production, the substance used to create plastic.
  • Indonesia generates just more than 21,000 tons of plastic waste daily. Most of the waste comes from rural locations without proper waste management systems. Most of the waste ends up in waterways, floating down rivers. Only 17% of the waste that makes it into rivers either washes up or is removed.
  • Vietnam’s recent economic growth contributes to the plastic waste problem. The nation produces almost 8,500 tons of plastic waste daily and if it continues on its current path, this amount is projected to double by 2030.
  • The Philippines produces just less than 8,000 tons of plastic waste daily and the country’s coastlines are suffering. Much of the country’s economy is based on coastal work—fishing, tourism and shipping. With 20% of all plastic waste finding its way to the ocean, these industries are being impacted. 

What Are Circular Plastic Economies?

In circular plastic economies, plastic waste is reduced by finding solutions to recycle and reuse plastic products that are currently being thrown away. Plastic, a material used globally, is estimated to double in production in the next 20 years. We are creating and producing new plastics daily and therein lies the problem. The world currently creates more plastic than is recycled for reuse. Currently, 84% of all plastic created is disposed of in landfills, fires or the ocean.

Globally, plastics are mostly operating in a “linear take-make-waste model,” a term coined by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a leader in circular economy creation and research. With the introduction of circular plastic economies, the economic value of production is recouped. Additionally, the material does not find its way into the environment.

CIRCLE Alliance’s Investment in Entrepreneurs

CIRCLE Alliance has already shown its dedication to the cause and displayed how circular plastic economies promote poverty reduction. In the Philippines, for example, lives Riza Santoyo. Her inspiring story starts with a self-funded waste-collecting business in her small town. She used the resources available to her to collect waste, making about $2 a day. CIRCLE Alliance’s investment in equipment for Santoyo allowed her to increase not only her efficiency and productivity in waste collection but also her income. The efforts that the CIRCLE Alliance is making in these key countries are at the intersection of sustainability and poverty reduction.

Expand Producer Responsibility

Another initiative to increase circular plastic economies is to expand producers’ and companies’ responsibility for the aftermath of their products. To combat the myth that single-use plastic is the most cost-effective method, USAID, EY and Unilever are working to promote systems of use called Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR Systems). These systems flip the responsibility of waste removal from the consumer to the producer. It forces the producer to evaluate the true cost of their single-use product. This has encouraged companies to make their plastic recyclable and to think of solutions outside of plastic for their products.

– Carlee Unger

Carlee is based in Pembroke, NC, USA and focuses on Global Health and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pexels

The Effects of Fast Fashion in West Africa

The Effects of Fast Fashion in West AfricaIn Accra, Ghana, landfills of rotting garments flood dumpsites. The place is overwhelmed with the results of fast fashion that no longer serves a purpose—but to take up space. In 2018, the United Kingdom’s interest in fast fashion has resulted in as many as 300,000 tons of clothing to be sent to landfills. This has resulted in the Kpone landfill being one of the main targets for the landfills in Accra. With the capacity of the landfills being quickly met, sanitation risks come into play. Residents of places like Kpone are now dealing with the blow of disease and solutions are needed to address the effects of fast fashion in West Africa.

What is Fast Fashion?

Fast fashion is the creation of quickly made cheap clothes that aim to fit the ever-changing trend of fashion. These clothes are likely to be advertised on Instagram and by retailers, such as Zara, BooHoo or ASOS. A majority of its operations are online and due to the popularity, 24% of all U.K. apparel sales were online in 2018. The continuous growth of the fashion industry has resulted in an expansion of landfills being filled with tossed clothing that no longer fit the trend. According to studies, the U.K. sends 10,000 items of clothing to landfills every five minutes, with places like Accra being overflooded.

The Kpone Landfill

In 2013, Accra’s most prominent landfill in Kpone opened. It served the purpose of receiving 700 tons of waste daily. The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), the local government, has also allocated the pick up of 70 tonnes of clothing waste from Kantamanto, Accra, daily.

This process began in 2016 and four years later Kpone is now overflowing with waste. However, despite Kpone receiving Kantamanto’s clothing waste, most of it does not reach the landfills and instead gets swept into gutters due to AMA’s inability to finance transportation for the waste.

Risks of Fast Fashion

Clothing waste tends to get tangled up in big knots that clutter up gutters and stop the flow of water and waste. These tangled messes lead to life-threatening floods and the spread of diseases such as malaria and cholera, which are especially devastating to the poor. The waste is leading to fatalities.

Kayayei, female transporters for waste, live near landfills in Old Fadama, Accra. These women breathe in the toxic air and carry up to 200 pounds of clothing to transport to retailers. It is not uncommon for these women to die by the weight they carry while on their travels, which could be up to a mile long. The sad reality of this is that women are risking their lives for less than a dollar to transport waste.

Efforts Being Made to Address Fast Fashion in West Africa

As of 2020, 7,800 men and women have worked toward the goal of collecting and recycling the waste in Kpone. These waste pickers are paid for their efforts and the work serves as a key survival tactic for those struggling to find employment. Approximately, 60% of recyclable waste has been collected by these workers.

However, despite the workers’ efforts being beneficial they are often looked down upon and are regularly met with harassment. Also, poor sanitation from the landfills put waste pickers at risk for health hazards. Yet, mobilizations among these workers have become common in recent times. International waste pickers associations have worked to have the local government in Kpone establish health posts near landfills and enforce sanitation rights.

The Future of Fast Fashion

The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have brought fast fashion to a halt. Christian Orozco, an associate of The OR Foundation, is optimistic about the future of fast fashion amid the pandemic. “The coronavirus has forced retailers that support fast fashion to close down their stores. This creates a big impact on the distribution of clothes and can slow it down,” explains Orozco.

Fewer people are purchasing clothing online due to the question of when they will be able to wear them out. Places like H&M, a huge retailer for fast fashion, have also been affected by COVID-19, leading to the closing of 250 stores worldwide. Additionally, clothing sales altogether have dropped by 34%, bringing forth the question of how the future of fast fashion will impact regions like West Africa.

– Ashleigh Jimenez
Photo: Flickr

Addressing the Benefits and Consequences of Tourism in Thailand

tourism in Thailand
Thailand is a unique country that attracts over 32 million tourists each year. Tourism made up 20.6 percent of Thailand’s GDP in 2016 and supported about 6.1 percent of jobs. Bangkok, Thailand’s capital, was the most visited city in 2017. It is clear the tourism in Thailand is impacting the country.

Thailand’s 2004 Tsunami Recovery

Tourism both aided and hindered Thailand in its post-tsunami state. With a high need for jobs and funds, many luxury hotels were able to reopen within months. Unfortunately, some groups such as migrant workers had a difficult time receiving aid, if they even received any at all.

The event was also a catalyst for the marginalization of those in a lower socioeconomic status as many were barred from returning to their homes in popular tourist areas such as the beach. It is estimated that upwards of 10,000 were either prevented from returning or an attempt was made to prevent them from returning.

The Marginalized in Thailand

The country’s social bias against migrant workers, immigrants and refugees is one of Thailand’s biggest criticisms. People in these marginalized groups are at a legal disadvantage compared to Thai citizens. Migrant workers are at the will of their employer, needing a “termination and employer transfer form” (in other words, permission from their current employer) in order to switch jobs. Research by the International Labor Organization (ILO) in 2010 found 33 to 50 percent of employers in the fishing, domestic and manufacturing sector used this law to their advantage to prevent losing migrant workers as employees.

There are also multiple reports of migrant workers being punished by law in what seem like uncertain situations. One example is the fourteen migrant workers who filed a complaint against their employer for exploitation, thus damaging the company’s reputation. This resulted in the employer filing a lawsuit against the workers with potential consequences being imprisonment and fines. 

Another unfortunate example occurred in 2015 when two migrant workers from Myanmar were sentenced to death for the murder of two tourists; the case was marred by police misconduct such as the mishandling of evidence and the alleged torture of the workers. While it is difficult to find an exact number of migrant workers convicted of a crime in Thailand, it is becoming increasingly clear to the world that this is a human rights issue that needs to be addressed.

Sex Tourism in Thailand

Prostitution was outlawed in the 1960s, but Thailand still has a growing trade revolving around paid sex. There is no way to get a real number on those traveling for sex tourism in Thailand, but NGOs estimated 70 percent of male travelers were visiting specifically for the sex industry in 2013. Prostitution does not have a social stigma in Thailand like in other countries and many Thais have accepted it as part of the culture, creating growth in the industry despite questionable legalities.

Medical Tourism in Thailand

Many tourists travel to Thailand because of the low-cost medical treatment. In 2006, about 200,000 tourists traveled to Thailand explicitly for medical treatment. By 2011, that number rose to half a million.

According to insurance company Thai Expat Club, Thailand was third in the world as the most likely destination for health tourism in 2016. Many medical tourists are saving at least half of what they would pay in the US. Add on recovery by the beach or in a resort and it is no wonder Thailand has become the medical hub of Asia.

Tourism’s Impact on the Environment

With tourism in Thailand increasing, trash increases as well. Unfortunately, Thailand’s infrastructure has been unable to keep up. A common assessment has been waste left over from beach parties. It is estimated that Ko Phangan Full Moon beach parties leave about 12 tons of debris per day behind which mostly goes into landfills or the ocean.

Many groups are currently trying to highlight this issue which will hopefully create a springboard for biodegradable materials and other environmentally conscious decisions. Some of the organizations partnering with Thailand to address the waste issues are the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which collaborates with Thailand to protect environmental laws, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which works on conservation within the country.

Tourism in Thailand is drawing in great opportunities such as growing jobs, a developing medical field and cultural awareness. However, there are some points of contention with prostitution, the waste problem and an increasing awareness of the marginalized in Thai society. Curbing environmental problems and working toward a more equal society will create a stronger Thailand and, ultimately, a stronger world.

– Natasha Komen
Photo: Flickr

Fighting Waste in Bangladesh By Using Compost


Waste management is an increasingly daunting problem for the country of Bangladesh, where as much as 50 percent of waste goes uncollected. Uncollected waste goes untreated, resulting in more water contamination, disease and greenhouse gas emissions. Untreated waste generates methane, which is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Between 2005 and 2020, emissions as a result of untreated waste in Bangladesh are expected to rise 22 percent.

The capital city of Dhaka is not only the most densely populated area; it is also home to the worst waste management in the country. In 2010, Dhaka generated 4,700 metric tons of waste daily. Fortunately, 80 percent of the waste Bangladesh produces is organic material. Maqsood Sinha and Iftekhar Enayetullah saw this as an opportunity and decided to turn the organic waste in Bangladesh into something both profitable and beneficial to the community: compost.

The two enterprising men started an organization called Waste Concern and set up community-based composting. Several families (three to seven) share chest-high metal barrels into which they deposit their food scraps. The composting barrels hold up to 400 pounds of waste, sit on concrete bases and, through specially drilled holes, encourage aerobic decomposition.

Sinha and Enayetullah started Waste Concern in 1995, taking their barrels door-to-door. Since then, the organization has served 30,000 people in Dhaka city and 100,000 people in 14 other cities and towns in Bangladesh, including slums and low and middle-income communities. Composting the organic waste reduces methane emissions by half a ton and eliminates a significant amount of municipal waste. Community-based composting helps control waste in Bangladesh and also opens up job opportunities for low-income sectors, helping to lift people out of poverty.

The project has saved over $1 million in waste management due to the revenue created from the compost itself and the simple, cost-effective system needed to create it. As a result of its success as a small-scale operation in Dhaka, Waste Concern plans to expand into a bigger operation, consume more waste and dump out more compost.

The project’s growth reflects Bangladesh’s push to reduce the country’s waste output and strengthen its economic status. Getting the community involved not only decreases the waste in Bangladesh, but it also establishes an environment of accountability and family.

– Taylor Elgarten

Photo: Flickr

Waste Management in the Cook Islands

Cook Islands

The Cook Islands is a sovereign island nation in free association with New Zealand. The main island, Rarotonga, is home to 70% of the nation’s estimated 17,800 people. Rarotonga is a small island, measuring approximately 26 square miles, with only one airport to accommodate its primary source of income: tourism.

Tourism constitutes more than half of the nation’s GDP and is the main stimulant of economic growth. However, it also contributes to the growing problem of waste management in the Cook Islands.

Waste collection is provided to all households Monday through Saturday by two private contractors operating in conjunction with the Ministry of Infrastructure Cook Islands (ICI). Businesses are responsible for disposing of their own waste in the sanitary landfill located in Avarua, the most populous district of Rarotonga and the nation’s capital.

The governments of Australia and New Zealand, along with support from the private sector, provide aid to improve the conditions of waste management in the Cook Islands. The Waste Management Facility, managed by ICI, employs three staff members at the landfill and another five at the recycling center. The sanitary landfill was designed in 2006 with an intended lifespan of 15 years but has now reached its capacity.

Avarua is also home to four operational incinerators used to burn garbage, two of which are used solely for airline waste and medical waste and none of which possess emissions control technology. In addition, open burning in backyards and public spaces is a common practice amongst Cook Islanders.

This is a problem, as open burning and the resulting emissions can be detrimental to human and environmental health. Open burning has been proven to emit significantly more harmful pollutants than municipal incinerators, releasing twice as many furans, 17 times as many dioxins and 40 times more ash, as well as carbon monoxide and dioxide, lead, arsenic, mercury, acid vapors and carcinogenic tars.

This not only because is there no emission control, but because open fires burn at lower temperatures, inhibiting complete combustion of the waste being burned. They also operate closer to the ground, increasing the risk of exposure to harmful effects.

Tourism is a major contributor to the abundance of refuse which has made it exceedingly difficult to control in the Cook Islands. However, the income generated from tourism is needed to stimulate the growth of the waste management system. After all, the standard set for tourists has been the principal catalyst for discussion over the development of waste management in the Cook Islands. The government is looking to break this waste cycle by improving facility quality.

– Jaime Viens

Photo: Flickr

 

Sealed Air: The Quest to Waste Less

sealed air
There is no surprise that the world will continue to see a vastly growing population in the upcoming years. This means that society will need to provide food for an increasing number of people to meet the needs of an expanding population.

One company, Sealed Air, works to protect the food and water the world consumes. With the intent of maintaining an efficient distribution of food and water for people worldwide, Sealed Air focuses on the processing, shipping and preparation of consumable products in “a safe and efficient environment.” In essence, Sealed Air focuses on packaging, cushioning and clean hygiene.

According to the company, its recognized brands, including Cryovac, Bubble Wrap and Diversity, help to ensure “a safer and less wasteful food supply chain, protect[ing] valuable goods shipped around the world, and improv[ing] health through clean environments.” Today, the company employs nearly 25,000 people, and services 175 countries with its products.

Therefore, Sealed Air is in the business of ensuring that food and water arrive to the consumer in as safe and accessible a way as possible. The company works with a number of government agencies and NGOs, including the EPA, the U.N. World Food Programme, the World Wildlife Fund and the Alliance for Water Stewardship.

One of Sealed Air’s primary focuses is to change and reverse public perception of waste. In the U.S., roughly 40 percent of food grown is wasted. The world as a whole wastes one-third of its food each year. A rising global population means more people, more food and potentially more waste, which Sealed Air is working to prevent.

A publicly traded company, Sealed Air, generated a revenue of nearly $7.7 billion last year. Declaring itself as the “new global leader” in food safety and security, facility hygiene and product protection, the company intends to cement itself as a global player in the fight to deliver as many consumable products to as many people as possible.

– Ethan Safran

Sources: World Food Program USA, Sealed Air, European Cleaning Journal
Photo: Sun Earth

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Trash Selfies in Tunisia

The selfie took the world by storm, spreading like a virus across social media platforms. The term often carries a negative connotation in many contexts, reflecting a sense of heightened narcissism brought on by the digital age.

However, even viral trends like the selfie can be turned around and used for productive and positive reasons.

A new selfie phenomenon is catching on in Tunisia for a very unique reason. It involves citizens taking snapshots of themselves with piles of trash in the background with the fitting title, “trash selfie.”

About two months ago, Tunisians began taking the trash selfie and posting it to Facebook and Twitter, using the hashtag #SelfiePoubella (#trashselfie). The photos are aimed at raising awareness of the excessive garbage and pollution currently plaguing the country.

The revolution in Tunisia left much of the country destroyed and many areas have yet to see proper repair and reform. As the political system works to restore order, public services have fallen behind. People are simply throwing their trash on the streets on top of piles that remain untouched.

Many Tunisian neighborhoods are riddled with rubbish, raising several health concerns. Aside from the smell alone, mosquito infestations and unsanitary conditions raise the risk of disease. Pollution-related diseases, such as asthma, are also increasing in the area.

The government has failed to properly respond to the crisis up until now. Tunisians are taking the trash selfie to social media platforms as a way to galvanize government response. As a result, Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa is currently working up a plan and intends to increase funding to the most problematic areas.

The waste treatment crisis is not limited to Tunisia alone, however. Trash in public areas has become a facet of life in much of the Middle East and North Africa region as the result of the Arab Spring.

The Arab Spring erupted in Tunisia in 2010 as a result of Twitter advocacy. The platform was critical to revolutionary communication throughout the conflict, as the entire world tuned in to a live-tweeted revolution. Social websites and mobile devices served as an effective way to voice the concerns of a people and push for political change.

Countries like Tunisia show the true potential of the Internet for uniting people over a cause they believe in. Middle Easterners have taken up a public voice on social platforms for real and necessary reform, and it seems they will continue to use it this way.

– Edward Heinrich

Sources: Green Prophet, Global Voices Online, PRI
Photo: Global Voices Online

India Rag Pickers Live in Landfill Slums

India_Rag_Pickers_Garbage_Waste
The United Nations estimates that the world wastes more than a billion tons of garbage annually. The vast majority of this garbage ends up in landfills, and human scavengers attempt to live off what the rest of the world has thrown away.

In the New Delhi 70-acre Ghazipur landfill alone there are an estimated 350,000 scavengers, or ‘rag pickers’. Living in filth, people spend their days sorting the endless trash into towering mountains, searching for items they can sell.

Plastic bags go for 5¢ a pound, and human hair fetches $18 a pound.

Sheikh Habibullah, has built a dirt-floor hut for his family of six by hanging rice-bags for walls, palm-leafs as a roof, and a Bollywood poster board for the door. The family collectively earns $60 a month, half of which pays a local boss for rent and the electricity to power a single light bulb.

For most, a doctor is out of the question and with boundless toxins leaking into the landfill from local dairies, slaughterhouses and a crematorium, cancer and birth defects are common.

Nevertheless 60-year-old Sheikh Abdul Kashid claims he’s “much freer here…I’ve given four children some education. I could never do that back home.”

At a landfill outside Karuvadikuppam in India, rag pickers celebrate when someone finds a chicken bone in the newest truck delivery. Scavengers also sometimes find onions, tomatoes, or garlic. A woman calls out to a passing reporter, “Don’t take the garbage away. We get everything from it. We survive because of it.”

In La Chureca landfill beside Lake Nicaragua a shelter has been set up for landfill workers. At Los Quinchos Centre people can receive lunch and, if they can afford the time off, relax with puzzles or practice their writing by copying down sentences and numbers. Maggie Barclay, a reporter for ‘Guardian Weekly’ asked a little boy about the birds in his drawing. He told her they were vultures – the only birds he’d ever seen.

The Huléne garbage dump in Maputo, Mozambique is home to an estimated 700 people. The sight of a garbage truck causes many to give chase, hoping to be the first to look through the new trash delivery. According to Jose Ferriera’s research these deliveries procure “everything from food, recyclable material, dead animals and fetuses of newly born.”

Ferriera spent time among the landfill community in Mozambique, and found that “[d]espite all the circumstances of how they live, they keep on showing their kindness and happiness and hospitality. We don’t find these human qualities in many places in the world.” He explains that living in the landfill was never a choice for many of them, and how “[m]any of them have seen the other side and dream of it themselves and every day they hope for a better life.”

– Lydia Caswell

 

Sources: Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Guardian, CNN
Photo: Sulekha

 

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