Thai grandmother Nom Prom-on rummages through rubbish binslooking for bottles, cans and paper to trade for food and other goods at arecycling cooperative providing a lifeline for Bangkok's poor. Riding an oldmotorcycle with a rubbish cart attached, the 61-year-old and her husband Rairise early to beat rival scavengers to claim the best of the city's recyclabletrash, which they take to a cash-free "zero baht shop". The couplehave combed bins for decades, but their earnings of less than 10 dollars perday are not always enough to live on, so they turned to the cooperative."When we're starving, we can find rubbish to exchange for rice to eat,detergent, soap and everything," said Nom, who also has grandchildren toraise and feed.
By selling to the recycling plants in bulk, the cooperativegets a better rate than individual scavengers would manage on their own.Profits are then paid back in dividends and other benefits to its members suchas life insurance, interest rates from its "rubbish bank" and helppaying medical fees. It is the brainchild of former scavenger PeerathornSeniwong and his wife Buarin.
"We thought of how we could help the poor -- then wethought of rubbish -- at least every house must have rubbish," Peerathorn,45, said. The scheme's 800 members include 35 households of scavengers alongwith other local people who heard about the shop in an area of eastern Bangkokand now bring their recyclables to trade. A former security guard andmotorcycle taxi driver, Peerathorn came up with the idea after six years ofliving homeless under an elevated road in Bangkok. "Sometimes we wouldhave to buy things like fish sauce or rice on credit at shops," saidBuarin. "But people looked down on us as we're poor and they'd wonderwhether they would get their money back -- that's why we started our ownshop." Fish sauce, rice, eggs, instant noodles, toothpastes and detergentare among the goods most sought by members, about 20-30 of whom visit the shopeach day, Buarin added.
There are several hundred thousand scavengers in Thailandearning about 200-300 baht a day, according to Thailand's Institute of Packagingand Recycling Management for Sustainable Environment, which has providededucation schemes for members on issues such as hygiene and sorting rubbish. Anestimate quarter of Thailand's 15 million tonnes of garbage of a year isrecycled -- largely thanks to scavengers rather than efforts by consumers toseparate their waste.
