US EditionTunisia plastic collectors spread as economic, migration woes deepen
- Tunisia's informal plastic recyclers, known as barbechas, have increased due to the country's economic struggles and migration issues, reflecting the ongoing woes in the nation.
- Hamza Chaouch, head of the National Chamber of Recyclable Waste Collectors, estimated that around 25,000 plastic collectors work in Tunisia, largely due to a lack of job opportunities.
- Many informal recyclers, including workers and retirees, turn to plastic collecting as a supplementary job, particularly as 16% of Tunisians lived under the poverty line in 2021.
- Migrants from sub-Saharan Africa also join plastic collecting after facing barriers to reaching Europe, as exemplified by individuals who started collecting plastic to survive after failed crossing attempts.
43 Articles
43 Articles
Malay Mail
Plastic picking spreads as lifeline for poor and migrants to survive in Tunisia
TUNIS July 28 — A towel draped over his head, Hamza Jabbari sets bags of plastic bottles onto a scale. He is among Tunisia’s “barbechas”, informal plastic recyclers whose increasing numbers reflect the country’s economic – and migratory – woes.The 40-something-year-old said he starts the day off at dawn, hunching over bins and hunting for plastic before the rubbish trucks and other plastic collectors come.“It’s the most accessible work in Tunisi…
ABC FOX Montana
Tunisia plastic collectors spread as economic, migration woes deepen
A towel draped over his head, Hamza Jabbari sets bags of plastic bottles onto a scale. He is among Tunisia's "barbechas", informal plastic recyclers whose increasing numbers reflect the country's economic -- and migratory
Mediafax Hamza Jabbari starts his day in the evenings, looking for buried plastic bottles that he sings then with the hope of winning a few days. It is one of the approximately 25,000 plastic collectors in Tunisia, known locally as "barbechas", whose number grows on the basis of the economic crisis. The work is invoicing and poor paid – a kilogram of glass is worth only 0.5-0.7 tons, less than $0.25. However, for many Tunisians, the collection o…
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