Hi I'm Karin and welcome to Our Human Planet.
Last time I showed you Egypt's garbage collectors
and how they got their trash.
This time you get to see what they do with it.
The Zabaleen do more than just sort garbage.
They turned it into raw materials
ready for manufacturing.
But first it has to be cleaned and prepped.
The plastic bags are shredded, then washed.
It's not a job you want.
It's hot, and dirty.
But the result is clean and dry
and ready to be sold to another family-owned
business in Garbage City.
Where it is mixed with calcium carbonate
and fed into yet another machine.
Keeping it running and unclogged is a full-time job.
They produce several tons of plastic goo per day.
It's then extruded like spaghetti
and run through a water bath to cool.
And finally, chopped into tiny pellets,
ready to be reincarnated as plastic hangers,
chairs, or spoons.
Some Zabbaleen have even started manufacturing for themselves.
The job is incredibly hot and dangerous.
They don't wear gloves
just the occasional rag or two.
But at least it means the younger men are learning skills
that can one day take them out of the garbage trade.
Despite their hard work and success
the Egyptian government just wants the Zabaleen to go away.
They are an eyesore.
A visible reminder of Egypt's lack of development.
So one day the government started giving contracts
to foreign companies to collect Cairo's trash.
But the large foreign trucks
couldn't sit through Cairo's narrow streets
and residents didn't want to bring their trash out to central bins.
Filth once again began to pile up throughout Cairo.
Eventually the multinational companies tried to hire the Zabaleen to collect their trash for them
for less than half of what they earned when they were working for themselves.
And because the foreign contractors recycle almost nothing
Cairo's landfills are quickly filling up.
Organic waste that could have fed the pigs.
Plastic bottles
Tires
Wood
And shoes.
So much that could have been re-used
left to rot or blow away in the wind.
The few hardy souls who managed to get out this far
barely make a dent.
As if that weren't enough,
The government has decided to relocate the Zabaleen
15 miles outside of Cairo.
Too far away to collect the city's trash.
But the Zabaleen are nothing is not resourceful
and they have made a few friends.
The Association for the Protection of the Environment
has been working with the Zabaleen for over 20 years.
They've even planted a garden
so that the children can see what flowers look like
grow some fruit and vegetables
and occasionally glimpse a bird or two.
The Association also runs a day care center
and most importantly, a school.
It may not have the most modern furniture
but the children - including girls -
learn to read and write.
And they eat lunch for free.
More than anything
the Zabaleen rely on their extended families.
Mokattam is a close-knit community.
One of the few places in Egypt
where Coptics are in the majority
and can freely practice their faith.
In 1975 the Zabaleen built the enormous
Monastery of Saint Simon of the Tanners.
It's the largest Coptic Church in the Middle East.
Its amphitheater, carved out of the mountainside,
can seat over 20,000 people.
Many Zabbaleen say they'd choose to live here
even if they didn't collect garbage for a living.
Despite the stench, the flies, and pigs,
Mokattem is like any other Egyptian neighborhood.
People fly kites
and try to steal each other's pigeons.
Their children play soccer
and everybody watches TV.
They celebrate their holidays
and each other.
Their little corner of Cairo is simply
home.