THE JORDANIAN RECYCLING PROGRAM

"We can't guarantee your safety if you get out of the truck," was the last thing my guide said before I hopped out and took this series of photos for Al-Sijill magazine. I was shooting at the largest landfill in Jordan, which stores about 60% of the country's trash. Among the foul smells and plethora of plastic bags were hundreds of men collecting trash. They come from the nearby Marka Palestinian refugee camp to take part in the illegal activity of sorting through people's discarded shit to find plastic bottles and aluminum cans. It is illegal because it is dangerous. Men are buried hip deep in trash as dump trucks and back hoes work all around them. But the management of the facility turns the other cheek for two reasons: it keeps trash out of the landfill, and it employs hundreds of men who desperately need the money. I was amazed to find out that these men earn between 40-80 JDs ($55-$110 USD) a day. That's more money than I made for the shoot! The illegality of what they are doing is what makes it dangerous to take photos. After a while though I think these guys were intrigued by the absurdity of an American who thought what they were doing was pretty fascinating.