A girl walks between plastic waste at a collection centre in Eastleigh, a suburb of Nairobi, Kenya.
19-year old Egunyu Mark sorts through a mound of plastic bottles as he prepares them for recycling. Thousands of tonnes of waste are collecting at sites like this one in Bweyogerere, because the industry is over capacity. The recycling of plastics has greatly reduced the amount of plastics in the city though, particularly in its water channels.
A worker sits atop a vehicle as it carries waste from the Central Business Centre to the Dandora Landfill in Nairobi, Kenya. There, men, women and children will pick through the waste as it arrives, looking for plastic, food, clothes, paper and bottles that they can sell. Described as a “perilous recycling economy”, the landfill puts food on the tables of around 3,000 families.
Birds scavenge on piles of waste at the Dandora Landfill in Nairobi, Kenya.
Men at the Dandora landfill weigh plastic to determine its value for re-sale. Because scavenging on the dump is done manually with no protection gear or equipment, workers risk serious health complications.
A train moves through trash in Kibera, Nairobi’s largest slum.
A woman walks through a heap of trash in Dandora Landfill.
A woman carries her baby as she cleans plastic bags which will then be sold to a factory that recycles them into home plastic utensils such as basins, plates and cups.
A woman walks over a bridge covered with plastic bags and bottles washed up from the clogged waterway below.
A woman washes waste plastics which will be recycled into waterproof bags and accessories.
A boy stands in sunshine beside a house built using plastic bottles in place of bricks.
Hundreds of students and young people shout slogans and wave placards during a protest against climate change in the streets of Nairobi.
A little boy burns plastic bags in front of his home in Gayaza, Uganda.
Stella Lukwago manufactures 100% biodegradable, compostable and reusable drinking straws as a sustainable alternative to plastic straws, at Our Roots Ltd, a Ugandan business.
Mariam Nnakanwagi and her daughter pose for a portrait in front of their business. Ms. Nnakanwagi, a single mother of four, supports her children by collecting and selling plastics for recycling.
A goat eats from a pile of garbage and polythene bags beside a food stand in Kampala.
A marabou stork with a broken wing stands atop Kiteezi landfill in Kampala. Marabou storks play an important role in waste disposal, scavenging for waste food all over Uganda’s urban centres.
A little boy plays on a garbage pile in Nsambya, Kampala. The children like to practice their gymnastics on the garbage pile because it offers a soft landing.
A pregnant woman walks through smoke from a heap of burning plastic in Kampala. The chemicals in this smoke are very harmful to human health.
Hundreds of students and young people shout slogans and wave placards during a protest against climate change in the streets of Nairobi.
Sundown at Dandora Landfill in Nairobi, Kenya.