22/03/2020
In the base of Mokattam hills, there lies a city named Manshiyat Nasser, also known as “Garbage City”. Manshiyat Nasser is a slum area that became home for 262.000 Egyptian people who live under poverty line.
Manshiyat Nasser is filled with garbage that are scattered throughout the city, on the streets, in city’s corner, and even on roofs and high-rise buildings. The city also lacks basic infrastructures such as electricity, water, and sewage system. Manshiyat Nasser received garbage from Cairo, and the Zabbaleen people make a living from collecting and recycling the waste that they received.
Zabbaleen people collect garbage from Cairo by offering individual waste pickup from one house to another with a small amount of fee. Those garbage are then transported to Manshiyat Nasser using trucks or donkey cart. Upon arrival, the garbage are sorted into two main categories: recyclable and non recyclable.
Even though they are often under appreciated, the Zabbaleen people are not ashamed of what they do. In fact, they take pride in themselves for being able to feed their families from the act of managing waste and indirectly solve environmental problems.
An unseen army of 50,000 Coptic Christians collects Cairo's trash at 2AM and take it home to Garbage City. • Why are only Christians recycling Cairo’s garbag...
