ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Zabbaleen

Zabbaleen are people who live in Egypt and have a very special job. They collect and sort through garbage!

When you throw away your garbage, it goes into a big truck and the truck takes it away to a landfill - this is where all the garbage goes. But in Egypt, instead of having a big truck come and pick up the garbage, people bring their garbage to the zabbaleen. The zabbaleen then sort through the garbage to find things that can be reused or recycled.

For example, if you throw away a plastic bottle, the zabbaleen will find that bottle and clean it so that it can be reused. They will also look for other things that can be reused, such as furniture or clothes. Anything that can't be reused is taken to a landfill.

The zabbaleen are very good at their job! They recycle or reuse around 80% of the garbage they collect. That's a lot! They work very hard and do an important job for their community.
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