Stung Meanchey Garbage Dump


Stung Meanchey Municipal Waste Dump was located in southern Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in a district of the city of the same name. The landfill was nicknamed as “Smokey Mountain”. It was a part of the city with low-income neighbourhoods and slums. The dump itself covered about 100 acres, or almost 6 hectares. It was flanked by private property on which rubbish pickers built makeshift huts. Roughly 2,000 people, about 600 of which were children, lived and worked there picking garbage to be sold for recycling at numerous purchasing spots at the site. The dump was closed by the city authorities in July 2009 and relocated to another location on the outskirts of the city.

Photos taken in 2004 and 2005. That was my first attempt at serious photography. My first project. Naive days, but full of enthusiasm and passion.

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