Trash collection in Liberia

After Liberia’s civil war ended, this politician says streets were filled with garbage everywhere. During the war trash collection had stopped and Monrovia’s population had tripled. Today the city produces more than 600 tons of garbage every day and still has no collection service. He returned to the US and told everyone about this story. One person he told was an official of the International Rescue Committee who liked the project because the results could be instant. They agreed to form a non-profit. The way they saw it, this was about stabilizing Liberia’s government in addition to dealing with trash. In war zones, trash isn’t the government’s priority. The immediate concerns are food, water and clothing. It’s still going to take time to establish a city-wide garbage collection system.