Garbage Dreams

Summary and Waste Management Methods

The film, shot by Iskander over four years, follows a biographical style and focuses on the lives of three teenage boys who inhabit Mokattam. Osama is a 16-year-old who is portrayed as moving from one job to the next. Nabil is an 18-year-old who dreams of owning his own apartment and getting married. Adham is a 17-year-old whose work involves shearing off the tops of soda cans and who strives to modernize the Zabbaleen's waste management practices. The film opens with an illustration of the Zabbaleen waste management system. The Zabbaleen take great pride in their traditions, one stating that they “turn garbage into raw materials.” They collect every type of waste from Cairo residents, including paper, plastic, metal, and other forms of waste. Using plastic granulators, cloth grinders, and paper and cardboard compactors, the Zabbaleen are able to successfully recycle 80 percent of the waste they receive. The materials that they generate are sold to countries including China, Belgium, and France. While they serve an integral role in Cairo's economy, they are often shunned. In addition, the nature of their waste work results in cases of hepatitis and the need for tetanus vaccinations.

The viewer is introduced to Laila, a passionate organizer of the Zabbaleen, who warns the residents of Mokattam that their recycling work is coming under attack. In 2005, Cairo sold $50 million in annual contracts to three private waste management companies from Italy and Spain. City managers were concerned that the practices of the Zabbaleen were too traditional and argued that a new, more modern system was needed. These modern waste companies lack the efficiency of the Zabbaleen, with only 20 percent of the collected waste being recycled and the remainder being incinerated or placed in landfills. A poignant segment of the film involves a school trip to one of these private landfills. One of the teenage boys is asked what he would do if he were given a landfill. “I'd dig it out. It's all a gift from God to be recycled and reused,” he replies. The boys then inspect the landfill site and are shocked to discover many useful items in the piles.

The film shifts to a study abroad trip. Nabil and Adham are sent to Wales to study contemporary advancements in recycling. Upon arrival, they discover that Wales recycles only 28 percent of its waste. They then take part in a curbside recycling program and tour a recycling center. One of the boys grabs some of the very fine bits on the center's conveyor belt, exclaiming that these, too, no matter how small, can be recycled. Their tour guide explains that these bits will be incinerated, much to the disappointment of the boys. They then understand that while Wales has new recycling technology, it lacks the “precision” that characterizes their [Page 300]work in Mokattam. Upon their return home, the boys, particularly Adham, are inspired to use their experiences in Wales to solve the crisis posed by the corporate waste management firms. Adham explains to Laila that one potential solution is to conduct source separation, a practice in which residents presort their waste prior to pickup. Laila and others go door-to-door and ask residents if they would support such a practice of essentially putting out one bag of food waste and a second with everything else. Most are supportive of this idea, but the Zabbaleen discover that the modern waste firms are mixing these bags anyway.

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