GARBAGE BOY and GARBAGE CITY
GARBAGE BOY and GARBAGE CITY
I visited Abuja recently. As usual, I had jet lag, that is, I couldn’t sleep when others slept. On this particular Sunday, as early as 5am in the morning, as I looked out of the window, I saw a young man, a trash collector, he stopped at the trash bin, picked out some items into his sack, was so excited as he moved on.
Barely 30 minutes later, another collector came to the same trash bin, ravaged the trash, and also took some items he considered valuable. At this point I became curious, what items of value did he find that the first man saw as invaluable?
As I pondered on this, behold, another young man came to the same trash bin and was also searching the bin with his string hanger, at this point, I just could not hold it, I went down to confront the young man. I queried, “my friend I said, what valuables did you find in the trash? he took some empty water bottles out of his sack and said he will sell it to ladies who sell a product he called zobo.
At this point I said to myself, this is entrepreneurship and job creation in a unique way. As I stood and watched this young man walk away, the biblical quote in Joel 1:4 made some sense” That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten”
As I walked back to my room, I asked myself a simple question, is there any lesson to learn from trash collectors? Come with me let me take you to a town in Egypt called Manshiyat Nasar also referred to as the Garbage City of the world.
Manshiyat Nasir is famous for its waste collection. All surrounding cities to Manshiyat are very clean, thanks to kids from Manshiyat who are programmed to see dirt as wealth.
In this city, waste collection is considered a family business. Manshiyat borders Nasr City to the east, central Cairo districts to the west, and Khalifa ward to the south. Its economy revolves around the collection and recycling of the city and neighboring city's garbage. Garbage collection as a form of trade is as old as the city itself and has been transferred from generation to generation as family business.
The city's garbage is brought to a central location referred to as “Garbage City” by a group of men and women often referred to as “the Zabbaleen” (the garbage collectors), who then sort through the garbage to attempt to retrieve any potentially useful or recyclable items.
As a passerby walks or drives down the road he will see large rooms stacked with garbage with men, women or children crouching and sorting the garbage into what they consider unsellable or some considered sellable.
Families typically specialize in a particular type of garbage they sort and sell — one room of children sorting out plastic bottles, while the next of women separating cans from the rest. Anything that can be reused or recycled is saved by one of the numerous families in this profitable family business.
The economy of Manshiyat is built on garbage collection. Garbage in Manshiyat is not just filth, it creates jobs, entrepreneurs and garbage, processing agents. it is an export commodity that even attracts foreign exchange into their small economy.
In the past weeks, I have read several articles on the prevalence of garbage in several Nigerian cities. While our garbage is attracting cholera and malaria, can we learn anything from Manshiyat Nasir? Can we think of creating a business out of garbage in Nigeria?
While we strive to make Nigeria the tourism capital of Africa, in our attempt to clean up the country can we think of developing a garbage program where trash is assembled, sorted, recycled, and serves as a job creation venture? One thing I can tell you is that you can create a business out of anything.
Can you imagine a situation where a bag of trash sells for two hundred naira at the collection site, and how young unemployed kids will literally scramble for dirt just to get paid? End result? Our streets become clean again.
Can you imagine a situation where young kids would knock at your door early morning to ask if you have dirt for them to collect? Can you imagine a situation where you have customers waiting to collect your trash just to earn a living from the collection centers?
Sustainable development works better if it is indigenous. In waste collection and management, we can actually create a small economy, and if we tie waste collection as a form of entrepreneurship and job creation for our youths, there are several international development organizations that can support us with funding.
While the primary purpose of the funding is job creation for vulnerable youths, the end product is keeping Nigeria clean.
It is a win-win situation. Can we actually create jobs with dirt? Yes, we can! If over 65% of Manshiyat Nasir's economy is built on waste collection and recycling, can we try a new method, probably a garbage city within some Nigerian towns that have become eyesores for a start, and see if that would create a new economy and address a major environmental challenge that today appears insurmountable in our eyes?
How common is common sense? Common sense is not really common. While we wait to build capital and secure foreign firms and finance for major waste conversion projects, like waste to energy or waste to biofuels, wonderful as those concepts may be, can we at least start somewhere, what I will call, waste for small cash for the boys!
Always remember, “That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten, and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten, and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten” This is just the story of an Abuja garbage boy, can we learn anything from this? For lack of a better title, I refer to this piece as Garbage boy and Garbage City.
Have a nice dayPrincewill Odidi is a social commentator writing from Atlanta.
Written by Princewill Odidi
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