Tukang Sampah - Meister des Mulls

In Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, 250 containers with plastic waste were found. "We don't know if they come from Germany or another country. The writing is in German, Dutch or other languages." Mrs. Masnellyarti Hilman from the Indonesian Environment Office follows the growing volume of imports: Indonesian recycling companies buy waste in large quantities.

Recycling of household waste is not a European invention. Indonesia is an example of how, in recent years, developing countries have established an effective recycling market. In large cities, tens of thousands of waste collectors walk the streets on foot, buying and selling waste that is then reused in factories (glass bottles) or recycled (plastic). Each of these people specializes in certain materials. The large recycling companies buy the plastic waste to use it in the manufacture of new products. However, the industry is increasingly interested in European or American plastic waste because it is of higher quality and above all cheaper. Imports compete with domestic waste and threaten the jobs of people who collect waste. Indonesia is trying to protect its domestic market by imposing a tax on plastic waste imports.

From the series: Humans and the Environment distributed by the Goethe Institut.