Peter Dench

***archive: zabaleen of garbage city

Moqqatam is one of the most extraordinary and hellish suburbs on earth. It is home to a people known as the Zabaleen, said to be the world's greatest waste recyclers. The Zabaleen, which means plainly enough, "the garbage collectors", pick up around 4000 tons of Cairo's waste each day. American researchers have shown that the Zabaleen recycle 85% of this garbage into something useful: a higher rate than anywhere else on the planet. The men do two shifts leaving about four in the morning and again around nine. The rubbish is taken back to Moqqatam for the women to sit in and sort through. The organic waste is fed to livestock, the rest sorted for recycling. The future of the Zabaleen is uncertain. If the Cairo authorities get their way, this community of 25,000 Coptic Christians living in a Muslim country will be gone, and with it their unique, astonishing lifestyle. 

  • A view across the Cairo suburb of Moqqatam, home to around 25,000 coptic ChristiansZabaleen, which literally means “garbage collectors” have assumed a semi-official role as Cairo’s binmen. The Zabaleen men usually do two shifts. They leave at about four or five in the morning, and again at about nine. The poorer Zabaleen use donkey carts, but many earn enough to rent trucks. They then take the garbage back to their homes for the women to pick through for items to recycle.
  • Schoolchildren hitch a ride on the back of a garbage collection truck driving through the central street of Moqqatam.Moqqatam is a suburb on the edge of Cairo and home to a people known as the Zabaleen, said to be the world’s greatest waste recyclers. The Zabaleen, which means plainly enough, “the garbage collectors”, pick up around 4,000 tons of Cairo’s waste each day. American researchers have shown that the Zabaleen recycle 85% of this garbage into something useful: a higher rate than anywhere else on the planet. The men do two shifts leaving about 4am and again around 9am. The rubbish is taken back to Moqqatam for the women to sit in and sort through. The organic waste is fed to livestock (the Zabaleen are originally swine herders), the rest sorted for recycling. The future of the Zabaleen is uncertain: if the Cairo authorities get their way, this community of around 25,000 Coptic Christians living in a Muslim country will be gone, and with it, their unique lifestyle.
  • Zabaleen carry recycled garbage through a street in Moqqatam.Moqqatam is a suburb on the edge of Cairo and home to a people known as the Zabaleen, said to be the world’s greatest waste recyclers. The Zabaleen, which means plainly enough, “the garbage collectors”, pick up around 4,000 tons of Cairo’s waste each day. American researchers have shown that the Zabaleen recycle 85% of this garbage into something useful: a higher rate than anywhere else on the planet. The men do two shifts leaving about 4am and again around 9am. The rubbish is taken back to Moqqatam for the women to sit in and sort through. The organic waste is fed to livestock (the Zabaleen are originally swine herders), the rest sorted for recycling. The future of the Zabaleen is uncertain: if the Cairo authorities get their way, this community of around 25,000 Coptic Christians living in a Muslim country will be gone, and with it, their unique lifestyle.
  • A filthy young child sits on a pile of rubbish stacked on a street in Moqqatam.Moqqatam is a suburb on the edge of Cairo and home to a people known as the Zabaleen, said to be the world’s greatest waste recyclers. The Zabaleen, which means plainly enough, “the garbage collectors”, pick up around 4,000 tons of Cairo’s waste each day. American researchers have shown that the Zabaleen recycle 85% of this garbage into something useful: a higher rate than anywhere else on the planet. The men do two shifts leaving about 4am and again around 9am. The rubbish is taken back to Moqqatam for the women to sit in and sort through. The organic waste is fed to livestock (the Zabaleen are originally swine herders), the rest sorted for recycling. The future of the Zabaleen is uncertain: if the Cairo authorities get their way, this community of around 25,000 Coptic Christians living in a Muslim country will be gone, and with it, their unique lifestyle.
  • A picture of Jesus Christ drawn on the wall of a home in Moqqatam.Moqqatam is a suburb on the edge of Cairo and home to a people known as the Zabaleen, said to be the world’s greatest waste recyclers. The Zabaleen, which means plainly enough, “the garbage collectors”, pick up around 4,000 tons of Cairo’s waste each day. American researchers have shown that the Zabaleen recycle 85% of this garbage into something useful: a higher rate than anywhere else on the planet. The men do two shifts leaving about 4am and again around 9am. The rubbish is taken back to Moqqatam for the women to sit in and sort through. The organic waste is fed to livestock (the Zabaleen are originally swine herders), the rest sorted for recycling. The future of the Zabaleen is uncertain: if the Cairo authorities get their way, this community of around 25,000 Coptic Christians living in a Muslim country will be gone, and with it, their unique lifestyle.
  • Zabaleen men work high up in the Cairo suburb of Moqqatam.Moqqatam is on the edge of Cairo and home to a people known as the Zabaleen, said to be the world’s greatest waste recyclers. The Zabaleen, which means plainly enough, “the garbage collectors”, pick up around 4,000 tons of Cairo’s waste each day. American researchers have shown that the Zabaleen recycle 85% of this garbage into something useful: a higher rate than anywhere else on the planet. The men do two shifts leaving about 4am and again around 9am. The rubbish is taken back to Moqqatam for the women to sit in and sort through. The organic waste is fed to livestock (the Zabaleen are originally swine herders), the rest sorted for recycling. The future of the Zabaleen is uncertain: if the Cairo authorities get their way, this community of around 25,000 Coptic Christians living in a Muslim country will be gone, and with it, their unique lifestyle.
  • 18 year old Zabaleen, Bahaa, makes black coat hangers from recycled plastic picked out from garbage collected from the homes and streets of Cairo. He has been doing the job since he was 13 and earns around $6 a day. The Zabaleen are a community of Coptic Christians largely residing in the Cairo suburb of Moqqatam and are said to be the world's greatest recyclers.
  • A Zabaleen man skins a slaughtered pig in Moqqatam.Moqqatam is a suburb on the edge of Cairo and home to a people known as the Zabaleen, said to be the world’s greatest waste recyclers. The Zabaleen, which means plainly enough, “the garbage collectors”, pick up around 4,000 tons of Cairo’s waste each day. American researchers have shown that the Zabaleen recycle 85% of this garbage into something useful: a higher rate than anywhere else on the planet. The men do two shifts leaving about 4am and again around 9am. The rubbish is taken back to Moqqatam for the women to sit in and sort through. The organic waste is fed to livestock (the Zabaleen are originally swine herders), the rest sorted for recycling. The future of the Zabaleen is uncertain: if the Cairo authorities get their way, this community of around 25,000 Coptic Christians living in a Muslim country will be gone, and with it, their unique lifestyle.
  • A truck heads out from Moqqatam on a morning shift to collect garbage.Moqqatam is a suburb on the edge of Cairo and home to a people known as the Zabaleen, said to be the world’s greatest waste recyclers. The Zabaleen, which means plainly enough, “the garbage collectors”, pick up around 4,000 tons of Cairo’s waste each day. American researchers have shown that the Zabaleen recycle 85% of this garbage into something useful: a higher rate than anywhere else on the planet. The men do two shifts leaving about 4am and again around 9am. The rubbish is taken back to Moqqatam for the women to sit in and sort through. The organic waste is fed to livestock (the Zabaleen are originally swine herders), the rest sorted for recycling. The future of the Zabaleen is uncertain: if the Cairo authorities get their way, this community of around 25,000 Coptic Christians living in a Muslim country will be gone, and with it, their unique lifestyle.
  • A garbage collection crew of young Zabaleen men on the street in Cairo.Moqqatam is a suburb on the edge of Cairo and home to a people known as the Zabaleen, said to be the world’s greatest waste recyclers. The Zabaleen, which means plainly enough, “the garbage collectors”, pick up around 4,000 tons of Cairo’s waste each day. American researchers have shown that the Zabaleen recycle 85% of this garbage into something useful: a higher rate than anywhere else on the planet. The men do two shifts leaving about 4am and again around 9am. The rubbish is taken back to Moqqatam for the women to sit in and sort through. The organic waste is fed to livestock (the Zabaleen are originally swine herders), the rest sorted for recycling. The future of the Zabaleen is uncertain: if the Cairo authorities get their way, this community of around 25,000 Coptic Christians living in a Muslim country will be gone, and with it, their unique lifestyle.
  • A garbage collection crew of young Zabaleen men on the street in Cairo.Moqqatam is a suburb on the edge of Cairo and home to a people known as the Zabaleen, said to be the world’s greatest waste recyclers. The Zabaleen, which means plainly enough, “the garbage collectors”, pick up around 4,000 tons of Cairo’s waste each day. American researchers have shown that the Zabaleen recycle 85% of this garbage into something useful: a higher rate than anywhere else on the planet. The men do two shifts leaving about 4am and again around 9am. The rubbish is taken back to Moqqatam for the women to sit in and sort through. The organic waste is fed to livestock (the Zabaleen are originally swine herders), the rest sorted for recycling. The future of the Zabaleen is uncertain: if the Cairo authorities get their way, this community of around 25,000 Coptic Christians living in a Muslim country will be gone, and with it, their unique lifestyle.
  • A Zabaleen man collects garbage from a Cairo suburb before returnng from his shift to Moqqatam.Moqqatam is a suburb on the edge of Cairo and home to a people known as the Zabaleen, said to be the world’s greatest waste recyclers. The Zabaleen, which means plainly enough, “the garbage collectors”, pick up around 4,000 tons of Cairo’s waste each day. American researchers have shown that the Zabaleen recycle 85% of this garbage into something useful: a higher rate than anywhere else on the planet. The men do two shifts leaving about 4am and again around 9am. The rubbish is taken back to Moqqatam for the women to sit in and sort through. The organic waste is fed to livestock (the Zabaleen are originally swine herders), the rest sorted for recycling. The future of the Zabaleen is uncertain: if the Cairo authorities get their way, this community of around 25,000 Coptic Christians living in a Muslim country will be gone, and with it, their unique lifestyle.
  • A Zabaleen man collects garbage from a Cairo suburb before returnng from his shift to Moqqatam.Moqqatam is a suburb on the edge of Cairo and home to a people known as the Zabaleen, said to be the world’s greatest waste recyclers. The Zabaleen, which means plainly enough, “the garbage collectors”, pick up around 4,000 tons of Cairo’s waste each day. American researchers have shown that the Zabaleen recycle 85% of this garbage into something useful: a higher rate than anywhere else on the planet. The men do two shifts leaving about 4am and again around 9am. The rubbish is taken back to Moqqatam for the women to sit in and sort through. The organic waste is fed to livestock (the Zabaleen are originally swine herders), the rest sorted for recycling. The future of the Zabaleen is uncertain: if the Cairo authorities get their way, this community of around 25,000 Coptic Christians living in a Muslim country will be gone, and with it, their unique lifestyle.
  • A Zabaleen man collects garbage from a Cairo suburb before returnng from his shift to Moqqatam.Moqqatam is a suburb on the edge of Cairo and home to a people known as the Zabaleen, said to be the world’s greatest waste recyclers. The Zabaleen, which means plainly enough, “the garbage collectors”, pick up around 4,000 tons of Cairo’s waste each day. American researchers have shown that the Zabaleen recycle 85% of this garbage into something useful: a higher rate than anywhere else on the planet. The men do two shifts leaving about 4am and again around 9am. The rubbish is taken back to Moqqatam for the women to sit in and sort through. The organic waste is fed to livestock (the Zabaleen are originally swine herders), the rest sorted for recycling. The future of the Zabaleen is uncertain: if the Cairo authorities get their way, this community of around 25,000 Coptic Christians living in a Muslim country will be gone, and with it, their unique lifestyle.
  • A Zabaleen man takes a break from collecting garbage in Cairo to smoke a cigarrette. Moqqatam is a suburb on the edge of Cairo and home to a people known as the Zabaleen, said to be the world’s greatest waste recyclers. The Zabaleen, which means plainly enough, “the garbage collectors”, pick up around 4,000 tons of Cairo’s waste each day. American researchers have shown that the Zabaleen recycle 85% of this garbage into something useful: a higher rate than anywhere else on the planet. The men do two shifts leaving about 4am and again around 9am. The rubbish is taken back to Moqqatam for the women to sit in and sort through. The organic waste is fed to livestock (the Zabaleen are originally swine herders), the rest sorted for recycling. The future of the Zabaleen is uncertain: if the Cairo authorities get their way, this community of around 25,000 Coptic Christians living in a Muslim country will be gone, and with it, their unique lifestyle.
  • Walid, a young Zabaleen man, collects garbage from the streets in front of the pyramids in Cairo. Zabaleen, which literally means “garbage collectors” have assumed a semi-official role as Cairo’s binmen. The Zabaleen men usually do two shifts. They leave at about four or five in the morning, and again at about nine. The poorer Zabaleen use donkey carts, but many earn enough to rent trucks. They then take the garbage back to their homes for the women to sort through for items to recycle.
  • Walid, a young Zabaleen man, shows his tattoo of Jesus Christ on the cross. The Zabaleen are a community of around 25, 000 Coptic Christians living in the Cairo uburb of Moqqatam.Zabaleen, which literally means “garbage collectors” have assumed a semi-official role as Cairo’s binmen. The Zabaleen men usually do two shifts. They leave at about four or five in the morning, and again at about nine. The poorer Zabaleen use donkey carts, but many earn enough to rent trucks. They then take the garbage back to their homes for the women to pick through for items to recycle.
  • A Zabaleen garbage collection truck returns to the Cairo suburb of Moqqatam at the end of a shift collecting trash from the cities streets and homes. Zabaleen, which literally means “garbage collectors” have assumed a semi-official role as Cairo’s binmen. The Zabaleen men usually do two shifts. They leave at about four or five in the morning, and again at about nine. The poorer Zabaleen use donkey carts, but many earn enough to rent trucks. They then take the garbage back to their homes for the women to pick through for items to recycle.
  • Cardboard sorted and stacked for recycling in Moqqatam.Moqqatam is a suburb on the edge of Cairo and home to a people known as the Zabaleen, said to be the world’s greatest waste recyclers. The Zabaleen, which means plainly enough, “the garbage collectors”, pick up around 4,000 tons of Cairo’s waste each day. American researchers have shown that the Zabaleen recycle 85% of this garbage into something useful: a higher rate than anywhere else on the planet. The men do two shifts leaving about 4am and again around 9am. The rubbish is taken back to Moqqatam for the women to sit in and sort through. The organic waste is fed to livestock (the Zabaleen are originally swine herders), the rest sorted for recycling. The future of the Zabaleen is uncertain: if the Cairo authorities get their way, this community of around 25,000 Coptic Christians living in a Muslim country will be gone, and with it, their unique lifestyle.
  • A Zabaleen man hauls a load of cardboard for recycling through a dusty street in Moqqatam.Moqqatam is a suburb on the edge of Cairo and home to a people known as the Zabaleen, said to be the world’s greatest waste recyclers. The Zabaleen, which means plainly enough, “the garbage collectors”, pick up around 4,000 tons of Cairo’s waste each day. American researchers have shown that the Zabaleen recycle 85% of this garbage into something useful: a higher rate than anywhere else on the planet. The men do two shifts leaving about 4am and again around 9am. The rubbish is taken back to Moqqatam for the women to sit in and sort through. The organic waste is fed to livestock (the Zabaleen are originally swine herders), the rest sorted for recycling. The future of the Zabaleen is uncertain: if the Cairo authorities get their way, this community of around 25,000 Coptic Christians living in a Muslim country will be gone, and with it, their unique lifestyle.
  • A Zabaleen man loads a truck with cardboard for recycling in Moqqatam.Moqqatam is a suburb on the edge of Cairo and home to a people known as the Zabaleen, said to be the world’s greatest waste recyclers. The Zabaleen, which means plainly enough, “the garbage collectors”, pick up around 4,000 tons of Cairo’s waste each day. American researchers have shown that the Zabaleen recycle 85% of this garbage into something useful: a higher rate than anywhere else on the planet. The men do two shifts leaving about 4am and again around 9am. The rubbish is taken back to Moqqatam for the women to sit in and sort through. The organic waste is fed to livestock (the Zabaleen are originally swine herders), the rest sorted for recycling. The future of the Zabaleen is uncertain: if the Cairo authorities get their way, this community of around 25,000 Coptic Christians living in a Muslim country will be gone, and with it, their unique lifestyle.
  • Zbaleen men squat amongst plastic bottles sorted for recycling.Moqqatam is a suburb on the edge of Cairo and home to a people known as the Zabaleen, said to be the world’s greatest waste recyclers. The Zabaleen, which means plainly enough, “the garbage collectors”, pick up around 4,000 tons of Cairo’s waste each day. American researchers have shown that the Zabaleen recycle 85% of this garbage into something useful: a higher rate than anywhere else on the planet. The men do two shifts leaving about 4am and again around 9am. The rubbish is taken back to Moqqatam for the women to sit in and sort through. The organic waste is fed to livestock (the Zabaleen are originally swine herders), the rest sorted for recycling. The future of the Zabaleen is uncertain: if the Cairo authorities get their way, this community of around 25,000 Coptic Christians living in a Muslim country will be gone, and with it, their unique lifestyle.
  • A woman in the ground floor of her home in Moqqatam prepares to sort through garbage for useful items to recycle.Moqqatam is a suburb on the edge of Cairo and home to a people known as the Zabaleen, said to be the world’s greatest waste recyclers. The Zabaleen, which means plainly enough, “the garbage collectors”, pick up around 4,000 tons of Cairo’s waste each day. American researchers have shown that the Zabaleen recycle 85% of this garbage into something useful: a higher rate than anywhere else on the planet. The men do two shifts leaving about 4am and again around 9am. The rubbish is taken back to Moqqatam for the women to sit in and sort through. The organic waste is fed to livestock (the Zabaleen are originally swine herders), the rest sorted for recycling. The future of the Zabaleen is uncertain: if the Cairo authorities get their way, this community of around 25,000 Coptic Christians living in a Muslim country will be gone, and with it, their unique lifestyle.
  • A young Zabaleen boy in a street strewn with garbage for recycling.Moqqatam is a suburb on the edge of Cairo and home to a people known as the Zabaleen, said to be the world’s greatest waste recyclers. The Zabaleen, which means plainly enough, “the garbage collectors”, pick up around 4,000 tons of Cairo’s waste each day. American researchers have shown that the Zabaleen recycle 85% of this garbage into something useful: a higher rate than anywhere else on the planet. The men do two shifts leaving about 4am and again around 9am. The rubbish is taken back to Moqqatam for the women to sit in and sort through. The organic waste is fed to livestock (the Zabaleen are originally swine herders), the rest sorted for recycling. The future of the Zabaleen is uncertain: if the Cairo authorities get their way, this community of around 25,000 Coptic Christians living in a Muslim country will be gone, and with it, their unique lifestyle.
  • A Zabaleen man sits with his goats on the street in Moqqatam.Moqqatam is a suburb on the edge of Cairo and home to a people known as the Zabaleen, said to be the world’s greatest waste recyclers. The Zabaleen, which means plainly enough, “the garbage collectors”, pick up around 4,000 tons of Cairo’s waste each day. American researchers have shown that the Zabaleen recycle 85% of this garbage into something useful: a higher rate than anywhere else on the planet. The men do two shifts leaving about 4am and again around 9am. The rubbish is taken back to Moqqatam for the women to sit in and sort through. The organic waste is fed to livestock (the Zabaleen are originally swine herders), the rest sorted for recycling. The future of the Zabaleen is uncertain: if the Cairo authorities get their way, this community of around 25,000 Coptic Christians living in a Muslim country will be gone, and with it, their unique lifestyle.
  • Zabaleen children make their way to lessons through the tightly packed streets of Moqqatam.Moqqatam is a suburb on the edge of Cairo and home to a people known as the Zabaleen, said to be the world’s greatest waste recyclers. The Zabaleen, which means plainly enough, “the garbage collectors”, pick up around 4,000 tons of Cairo’s waste each day. American researchers have shown that the Zabaleen recycle 85% of this garbage into something useful: a higher rate than anywhere else on the planet. The men do two shifts leaving about 4am and again around 9am. The rubbish is taken back to Moqqatam for the women to sit in and sort through. The organic waste is fed to livestock (the Zabaleen are originally swine herders), the rest sorted for recycling. The future of the Zabaleen is uncertain: if the Cairo authorities get their way, this community of around 25,000 Coptic Christians living in a Muslim country will be gone, and with it, their unique lifestyle.
  • Zabaleen women sort thgough garbage for useful items to recycle outside the main entrance to Moqqatam.Moqqatam is a suburb on the edge of Cairo and home to a people known as the Zabaleen, said to be the world’s greatest waste recyclers. The Zabaleen, which means plainly enough, “the garbage collectors”, pick up around 4,000 tons of Cairo’s waste each day. American researchers have shown that the Zabaleen recycle 85% of this garbage into something useful: a higher rate than anywhere else on the planet. The men do two shifts leaving about 4am and again around 9am. The rubbish is taken back to Moqqatam for the women to sit in and sort through. The organic waste is fed to livestock (the Zabaleen are originally swine herders), the rest sorted for recycling. The future of the Zabaleen is uncertain: if the Cairo authorities get their way, this community of around 25,000 Coptic Christians living in a Muslim country will be gone, and with it, their unique lifestyle.
  • A young Zabaleen woman sorts through garbage collected from Cairo for useful items to recycle.Moqqatam is a suburb on the edge of Cairo and home to a people known as the Zabaleen, said to be the world’s greatest waste recyclers. The Zabaleen, which means plainly enough, “the garbage collectors”, pick up around 4,000 tons of Cairo’s waste each day. American researchers have shown that the Zabaleen recycle 85% of this garbage into something useful: a higher rate than anywhere else on the planet. The men do two shifts leaving about 4am and again around 9am. The rubbish is taken back to Moqqatam for the women to sit in and sort through. The organic waste is fed to livestock (the Zabaleen are originally swine herders), the rest sorted for recycling. The future of the Zabaleen is uncertain: if the Cairo authorities get their way, this community of around 25,000 Coptic Christians living in a Muslim country will be gone, and with it, their unique lifestyle.
  • The gate to the Cairo suburb of MoqqatamMoqqatam is on the edge of Cairo and home to a people known as the Zabaleen, said to be the world’s greatest waste recyclers. The Zabaleen, which means plainly enough, “the garbage collectors”, pick up around 4,000 tons of Cairo’s waste each day. American researchers have shown that the Zabaleen recycle 85% of this garbage into something useful: a higher rate than anywhere else on the planet. The men do two shifts leaving about 4am and again around 9am. The rubbish is taken back to Moqqatam for the women to sit in and sort through. The organic waste is fed to livestock (the Zabaleen are originally swine herders), the rest sorted for recycling. The future of the Zabaleen is uncertain: if the Cairo authorities get their way, this community of around 25,000 Coptic Christians living in a Muslim country will be gone, and with it, their unique lifestyle.
  • Garbage collection trucks head out on a morning shift passing two dead dogs on the road out of Moqqatam.Moqqatam is a suburb on the edge of Cairo and home to a people known as the Zabaleen, said to be the world’s greatest waste recyclers. The Zabaleen, which means plainly enough, “the garbage collectors”, pick up around 4,000 tons of Cairo’s waste each day. American researchers have shown that the Zabaleen recycle 85% of this garbage into something useful: a higher rate than anywhere else on the planet. The men do two shifts leaving about 4am and again around 9am. The rubbish is taken back to Moqqatam for the women to sit in and sort through. The organic waste is fed to livestock (the Zabaleen are originally swine herders), the rest sorted for recycling. The future of the Zabaleen is uncertain: if the Cairo authorities get their way, this community of around 25,000 Coptic Christians living in a Muslim country will be gone, and with it, their unique lifestyle.
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