Knee deep in trash, Phnom Penh's poorest families struggle to build a life from what others throw away. They are scavengers, living amid mountains of garbage in Stung Meanchey, the largest trash dump in Cambodia. Fumes from sewage and burning garbage fill the air. Pigs forage in the village's dirt lanes. At the dump, garbage trucks plow in and out. When they lift and tilt their basins, it rains trash. People swarm underneath, bags open, competing for the best bits of refuse; recyclables like...
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Knee deep in trash, Phnom Penh's poorest families struggle to build a life from what others throw away. They are scavengers, living amid mountains of garbage in Stung Meanchey, the largest trash dump in Cambodia. Fumes from sewage and burning garbage fill the air. Pigs forage in the village's dirt lanes. At the dump, garbage trucks plow in and out. When they lift and tilt their basins, it rains trash. People swarm underneath, bags open, competing for the best bits of refuse; recyclables like plastic and aluminum to resell. The pay is 5,000 riel per hour, about 50 cents. They work from sunrise to sunset, and sometimes until ten o'clock at night. It's most dangerous at night when they can't see what they're grabbing or where they're stepping. Some children as young as seven years old accompany their parents to the dump, becoming scavengers to help support their families.
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