The Zabaleen: Cairo's Garbage Collectors (Part 1)

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 garbage – in a country that is 90% Muslim?
• Why do you want to avoid hospital waste at all costs – especially in Egypt?
• What can you learn about a city from its garbage?

The Zabaleen have created one of the most efficient recycling systems in the world. They re-use 85% of Cairo's waste from over 12 million people.

Until recently Garbage City – their home – had no water, sewage, or electricity.
The men collect, the women sort, and the children start helping as soon as they can walk.
Everything they need to live is found in the garbage - from toys to food for their livestock.
The garbage gets separated into hundreds of categories – from forks to dolls.

They’ve weathered many crises – during the swine flu epidemic the government ordered every pig in Egypt to be slaughtered. The Garbage People almost starved. Waste piled up on Cairo’s streets.

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Category: Travel