The Untold Stories of Sanitation and Waste workers
The health dangers faced by sanitation workers
It was a Saturday afternoon. Twenty-two-year-old Din Islam was collecting garbage from different houses at Sarafatganj Lane in Gandaria—his ankle covered with a polythene bag.
Educated and awarded, but at what cost?
She earned fame, respect and prestigious awards for her outstanding achievement as the first graduate in her community.
Lives buried under the weight of waste
At around 9 AM, two massive excavators were moving wastes from a waste dumping platform at Matuail Sanitary Landfill. Deafening noise from the engines and their gigantic moving arms equipped with teethed steel bucket could not make any impression on 10-year-olds Shabuj and Shajib.
They are called “untouchables”
26 years ago, a young Md Riajuddin came to Dhaka, from Mymensingh, to make a decent living.
Living on medical wastes
Md Rasel, a 27-year-old peddler, regularly visits hospitals and diagnostic centres in Dhaka’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area to collect recyclable medical wastes.