Narrator: These plastic fibers
started as buckets pulled from the trash.
Now, they're used to make rugs, as well as prayer mats.
At the Hijazi Straw Mat Factory in Gaza,
working with plastic waste is the only option.
Narrator: Eyad Hijazi used to import virgin plastic
from Saudi Arabia.
But since 2007, blockades have made it harder
to get anything in or out of Gaza.
Stocks of all kinds of important items are down,
while trash is piling up.
So people across the Strip are finding all kinds of ways
to run their businesses
with materials recovered from landfills.
Narrator: So how do you deal with trash
in a conflict zone?
We went to the Gaza Strip
to see how people make their living off worldwide waste.
Donkey carts filled with plastic buckets pull up to this factory almost every day.
Workers saw the buckets into pieces to fit into shredders.
Washing machines remove any dirt and residue.
Some excess water is drained,
and the pieces are added to the dryer to spin out the rest.
Narrator: This type of plastic retains its strength
after recycling despite being incredibly lightweight.
The plastic is poured into bags
and sent upstairs using a lift.
Next, plastic bits get loaded into the hopper,
where they will be heated to their melting point.
Adding dyes adjusts the color.
Then, the pliable sludge falls down to an extruder
before being pushed out into long strands.
Water cools the plastic until it solidifies.
The strands get cut down back into a granule size
and end up in these huge sacks.
The granules are then sent back downstairs.
They're heated up again
before being poured into machines specially sized
for the mat threads.
This time, the machines cut the plastic threads
to the perfect size for weaving.
Workers bundle the filaments and walk them over
to the weaving machines.
The factory can produce up to 500 meters of mats every day.
But that's way down compared to previous years.
When Eyad's father opened it in 1986,
the factory ran 24 hours a day
with almost 30 employees.
Now, there's only one shift a day,
and conflict often dictates work schedules.
Israeli airstrikes damaged the factory multiple times,
most recently in May 2023.
Eyad still hasn't been able to rebuild.
Narrator: Many of the materials needed
to rebuild the factory remain too expensive.
Like cement, which was largely banned until 2021.
Narrator: The factory keeps running,
despite the challenges of operating in a conflict zone.
Narrator: In Gaza, electricity is unreliable,
running only 14 hours a day on average.
Narrator: Power in Gaza comes from two sources:
an old diesel-powered plant that only meets
about one fifth of electricity demand
and power lines from Israel.
But diesel is expensive,
and there's little place to store large amounts.
The Gaza Strip is one of the most densely populated parts
of the world.
It's been an occupied territory since 1967.
In 2007, Hamas took control of Gaza.
Israel, the United States, and the European Union
label it a terrorist organization.
Since then, Israel has restricted the movement
of people and goods in and out of the 25-mile strip of land.
The blockade cut off materials that could be used
to manufacture weapons and for other military purposes,
according to the Israeli government.
We cannot allow materials that can be used
for weapons that would be used against us
to cross the border.
Narrator: But the list also included a lot
of basic items needed to repair infrastructure.
Over time, supplies of building materials,
fuel for cars and power plants,
parts to fix broken machinery,
and even some medical equipment have periodically run out.
And the garbage heaps kept getting bigger and bigger.
Narrator: Mohamed Sabri Musleh,
a director at the Water and Quality Environment Authority
in Gaza, says the territory produces
over 2,000 metric tons of solid waste per day.
Gaza's recycling centers can't handle all of it.
And the blockade often prevents waste from being shipped
to other countries for processing.
So a lot of garbage ends up in the strip's two official landfills,
where it's regularly burned.
But because the landfills lack
proper firefighting equipment,
large fires can burn for days.
This one in March 2023 took more than three days to control,
and Gaza called for international aid to help put it out.
There's so much trash that illegal dump sites
sometimes become the only option.
Narrator: Since the start of the blockades,
unemployment has hovered around 45% in Gaza.
And the illegal dump sites have become a source of income
for trash pickers, who sometimes burn electronic waste
to salvage copper and other metals.
That creates clouds of toxic smoke
linked to increased cancer rates and respiratory problems
for Gaza's children.
Even though most Gazans suffer from the waste problems,
those trash piles have become a resource.
In 2019, one man began recycling paper waste,
turning it into trays for transporting eggs.
Narrator: Akram spent two years perfecting the recipe.
Workers first rip the trash paper and mix it with water.
The proper ratio produces a moldable, thick slurry.
Molds press the slurry into the proper shape,
squeezing out the extra water.
Then, they dry in the harsh Mediterranean sun.
Now, Akram employs seven people to make the trays.
Narrator: Unlike the raw materials needed
over at the mat factory,
egg cartons remained off the list of banned imports.
But local farmers prefer the recycled cartons.
Narrator: And every egg is precious.
more than sixty percent of people in Gaza are food insecure.
Isolated from the rest of the world,
Gaza has been called the world's largest open-air prison.
But it has about 25 miles of Mediterranean coastline.
Narrator: Ali Mhana worked with an artist collective
to build The Sea is Ours cafe.
Planters made from old tires line the path to the entrance.
One of the doors came from a refrigerator.
Narrator: And windows from an old washing machine.
Inside, the artists run a community center
that teaches locals how to reuse everything.
Narrator: The cafe allows customers to donate waste
from their homes in lieu of cash.
Narrator: Despite the war around them,
the artists cobble together a mini oasis by the ocean,
spending their days working on community art projects.
Narrator: The cafe and community space provide
a modest income for the half a dozen people who work here.
And while today seems like a peaceful evening,
there are always reminders of the effects of war.
Narrator: Ali is in talks with the Gaza government
to open more community centers, especially for children.
Narrator: The conflict has forced Ali and Eyad,
as well as many other Palestinians,
to become unlikely recyclers,
making the best out of a dire situation.