Garbage for the Few

Though the majority of people in India throw their refuse in the streets and waterways (see Garbage for the Many), some of the nicer neighborhoods have a municipal garbage service. We pay about 80 cents per month to have our trash taken away in a truck to an empty lot along the main road that we often walk past. Many times a young boy who is too poor to attend school sits in the back of the truck, sorting through the putrid mess and picking out the recyclables to make a little cash.

The loudspeaker that announces the truck's arrival can be annoying. One day we didn't hear it anymore and saw that it had been torn off the top of the truck. (We don't blame the culprit!) Now the truck just honks loudly and continuously to announce its arrival.