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Gulf News
  • 11 months ago
Illegal trash pickers raid UAE landfill. Scavengers play cat and mouse with the guards at the Dubai-Sharjah border landfill. The trash pickers look for recyclable waste that they can sell in order to survive. See more at: http://gulfnews.com/gntv
Transcript
00:00For many, the giant landfill on Emirates Road in Dubai is an eyesore, but for the trash
00:09pickers it's a treasure trove, a source of money and opportunity.
00:13An enormous amount of trash is dumped here every day, and this garbage is a source of
00:17revenue for many who are dependent on trash for cash.
00:21They illegally collect rubbish of different kinds, metal, plastic and paper.
00:25Some cans fetch the best prices, about 3 dirhams per kilo, that's around 60-80 cans.
00:31All the collected trash is sold to underground scrap dealers, who then sell the material
00:35in bulk to recycling companies or ship it overseas in bales.
00:40While the dealers make hundreds of dirhams in profit per ton, the trash pickers are paid
00:44a few dirhams per kilo, making about 500 dirhams a month in illegal income.
00:49Most trash pickers are workers who have overstayed their visa or entered the UAE illegally, making
00:54on-the-spot cash payments by dealers hard to resist.
00:57This has led to an army of scavengers looting the landfill, overwhelming the few guards
01:03there.
01:24Authorities told Gulf News the practice is a health and safety risk, with only a few
01:38companies licensed to handle waste materials professionally.
01:41Officials are planning to curb the problem with stiffer fines and punishments that may
01:45include 1,000 dirham fines for trespassing the landfill and even deportation options.
01:50But for now, the landfill remains an appealing place for trash pickers to earn their daily
01:55wage.
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