This man is having lunch in his small shop in Nangloi, a working-class neighbourhood in West Delhi, located just opposite a slum of waste pickers. His job consists in collecting and repairing large plastic bags, which are piled up in rolls behind him, and which he then sells on to the inhabitants of the slum. Waste pickers carry these large and thick bags on their backs, filling them up with the waste they pick up around the city, until their bag is packed with large amounts of recyclable materials. Organisations for the protection of waste pickers demand for the authorities to recognise their contribution to the cleaning of public spaces, which would include providing them with more adequate equipment. Until these workers are better integrated, these basic bags will remain an essential tool for the collection of waste and a symbol for the precariousness of waste recovery, a poorly recognised and protected profession.
