Gleaning

Gleaning and recycling.

The day before garbage/recycling day a shopping cart like this is a regular sight in neighborhoods (the same is true in San Francisco and many other cities). Nearly all beverage bottles (plastic and glass) and cans have a redemption value and can be taken to a recycling machine (generally found at supermarkets) where these bottles and cans can be fed into the machines and the redemption value collected. Some gleaners are people that need to supplement their income or they are without homes and it's a way to earn a few bucks. This cart, like many I see, is highly organized with the different types of recyclables sorted into groups so that they can easily be fed into each specific machine. The bottles and cans are mainly gleaned from household recycling bins when they're set out at the curbside the day/night before collection or from street garbage cans; however, some neighbors specifically leave out their recyclables in a regular spot for the gleaners rather than putting them in the yellow or blue recycling bins for the weekly collection.


A record of our urban landscape and how people in our cities live, or subsist, to be more accurate.

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