Turkey’s 500,000 or so informal waste pickers carry out around 80% of the recycling in the country. These workers, who are also known as çekçekçi, are essential for separating out waste in a country where this is rarely done at source.
But their lives are precarious. Most of them are unregistered, lack social security, and have no access to basic services such as healthcare. And now they find themselves affected by efforts that formalise Turkey’s waste management system.
