Lebanon’s poorest scavenge through trash to survive

With the ranks of scavengers growing among the desperately poor, some tag trash cans with graffiti to mark their territory and beat those who encroach on it. Meanwhile, even better-off families sell their own recyclables because it can get them U.S. dollars rather than the country’s collapsing currency.

That’s left the poor even poorer and fearful for their futures.

Trash had been a problem even before the crisis, with major protests in past years against neglect by authorities who sometimes allowed garbage to pile up in the streets.

Now, teenagers carrying giant plastic bags roam the streets looking through dumpsters for scraps they can sell.

That access to dollars makes scavenging even more dangerous now. People couldn’t afford to eat and they started scavenging, and each started to have their own bin.