Surprising finds in Antalya trash! Turns out, there was a fortune in the garbage
Antalya's trash surprised onlookers. Recycling workers pointed out that there is a fortune lying in the garbage.
In Antalya, where tons of waste are collected daily, discarded items often surprise even recycling workers. They encounter everything from clothing and shoes to electronics and jewelry. Recycling workers noted that the biggest waste issue in Antalya is with bread and food products.
MOST BREAD IS WASTED
They roam every corner of Antalya's neighborhoods and streets with a cart they lean on. By recycling the waste they collect from garbage, they earn their living. Roaming street by street in the scorching heat of Antalya, educating their children and supporting their household with the money earned from garbage, these recycling workers surprise even themselves by collecting materials from garbage containers, sometimes materials that could almost be considered new. Despite having a budget that can barely cover basic needs, recycling workers have recently been concerned about the food products wasted by citizens. Tuncer Pelit, who has been in the recycling business for 10 years, expressed sadness upon encountering bread discarded for the sake of money.
EVERYTHING EXCEPT SPOUSES AND CHILDREN IS BEING THROWN AWAY
Recycling operator Kenan Dündar from Turkey highlights that the biggest waste issue in the country is related to bread consumption. He suggests that if people only bought what they can consume, especially in food products, waste could be significantly reduced. "If people bought only what they can eat, there wouldn't be so much waste. There's also the production side to consider. It's easy to throw away something you don't like, but think about the resources used to produce it. There's planting, harvesting, milling into flour, all of which represents waste. The biggest waste in Turkey is bread. People don't just discard their spouses, children, and themselves. They throw away everything else—televisions, clothes, refrigerators, washing machines. Everything except what's in their homes. What a waste! People need to be educated about this," he said.
WALLETS, GOLD, EVEN MONEY FOUND IN GARBAGE
During the collection of waste, recycling worker Recep Ayhan occasionally comes across valuable items like gold and money, aside from clothes, shoes, toys, and electronics. "We find wallets, gold, and even dollars in the garbage. We take these to the police station. Once, we found a wallet in the garbage. It contained around 8,000 dollars and approximately 3,000 Turkish liras. Inside, there was only an ID card; there was no phone number or anything. There was a number written on paper. I explained that I found the wallet. It turned out the owner was its brother. I took the wallet and handed it over. He wanted to give me some money. I refused, but he insisted and made me accept it. Finding valuable items in the garbage is a common occurrence, it happens regularly. Phones, wallets, money, even gold. When we can't locate the owner, we take them to the police station".
THEY EDUCATE THEIR CHILDREN WITH EARNINGS FROM GARBAGE
Kemal Şentürk, President of the Antalya Recycling Workers Association, stated that he managed to put his two children through university using money earned from recycling materials collected from the streets. "For 20-25 years, I educated my children with pride and honor from the money I earned through recycling on the streets. Both of my children graduated from university and found jobs. This is a major industry, and workers in it should have insurance coverage. Street collectors are honorable, dignified heroes to me; nobody voluntarily goes to those containers or garbage. Because those who need it, work. There are workers now working for hours under that heat. Who would work honestly under that heat? These people have to work because they are in need, they have to bring bread home".
WHILE ONE SIDE WASTES, THE OTHER SIDE PROFITS
Kemal Şentürk, noting that recycling has turned into a second-hand market and mentioning markets set up weekly, stated, "We can say there's everything in recycling. From clothes to silver, gold, you name it, everything related to second-hand items is available. One side wastes so that the other side can profit. People educate their children using materials considered waste by citizens. There are hundreds of thousands of people nationwide. In Antalya, the official number of members engaged in this activity is over 3,000, close to 4,000. There have been decreases with the involvement of Syrian friends. From gold to silver, copper to antiques, from bed linens to clothes and shoes, everything is available in recycling. The sector is very large".
