When we first saw the elderly man named Mihai, he was harvesting the day's “yield” — cardboard, bottles and sticks. We couldn't go by. We stopped and asked where he was dragging it. It turned out that every day Mihai goes to the local shops to collect cardboard and polyethylene film.
We started with questions about his attitude to garbage and ended up learning about the story of his father, who survived the First World War, as well social and political cataclysms in Moldova. The man generously shared his thoughts with us. When we admired his sociability, he only grinned, saying that he had read “a lot of books” in his life.
Fascinated by his openness and honesty, we invited Mihai to become the hero of our article.
He invited to his home with the condition that the conversation and shooting would take no more than half an hour... so as not to violate his “working” schedule.
We started with questions about his attitude to garbage and ended up learning about the story of his father, who survived the First World War, as well social and political cataclysms in Moldova. The man generously shared his thoughts with us. When we admired his sociability, he only grinned, saying that he had read “a lot of books” in his life.
Fascinated by his openness and honesty, we invited Mihai to become the hero of our article.
He invited to his home with the condition that the conversation and shooting would take no more than half an hour... so as not to violate his “working” schedule.
Visiting Mihai
We recorded the interview the next day. Mihai Kassian lives in a small house on the outskirts of Chisinau. His yard is full of items for all occasions.
We put a microphone on our hero, which made him very happy.
“How interesting!” Mihai exclaimed and laughed sincerely. We, too, were delighted that we were bringing something curious into his life.
We put a microphone on our hero, which made him very happy.
“How interesting!” Mihai exclaimed and laughed sincerely. We, too, were delighted that we were bringing something curious into his life.
Garbage collection as work
Mihai has been collecting cardboard, polyethylene and, more recently, glass beer bottles for a year now. He organized their storage in his yard: polyethylene in front of the house, and cardboard behind.
When a sufficient amount (a ton or more) is collected, our hero calls the garbage collection companies, they come and buy waste from him. But it takes a lot of time to prepare it.
Our hero considers garbage collection his job. He was forced to do this to cope with the economic crisis. Mihai is an old person, he has had a disability since childhood, and every penny counts for him. He collects waste, delivers it to collectors and earns “some money”. He does not reveal how much he is paid. He says that his wife and son are satisfied that “he is not lazy, but busy with something useful.” All in all, he worked all his life: in the days of the Soviet Union — as a seller in a store, after Moldova gained independence — as a security guard at a construction site.
When a sufficient amount (a ton or more) is collected, our hero calls the garbage collection companies, they come and buy waste from him. But it takes a lot of time to prepare it.
Our hero considers garbage collection his job. He was forced to do this to cope with the economic crisis. Mihai is an old person, he has had a disability since childhood, and every penny counts for him. He collects waste, delivers it to collectors and earns “some money”. He does not reveal how much he is paid. He says that his wife and son are satisfied that “he is not lazy, but busy with something useful.” All in all, he worked all his life: in the days of the Soviet Union — as a seller in a store, after Moldova gained independence — as a security guard at a construction site.
Gallery
Mutually beneficial symbiosis
In Moldova, large supermarket chains have equipment for pressing cardboard, handing it over to manufacturers for further processing. Small shops cope on their own, mainly throwing cardboard and plastic packaging in the nearest trash cans. Mihai relieves them of these troubles by taking their recyclables. It turns out it’s a mutually beneficial social symbiosis.
The elderly man disdains to rummage through the mixed garbage containers: they are dirty and smelly. There, according to him, is where trash lies. He, on the other hand, deals with recyclable waste. For him, this difference is of fundamental importance.
The collection of recyclables in Moldova is not without competition. As for the “others” who also “hunt” for waste from stores, Mihai has not decided where he stands. On the one hand, “let them take what they need, there’s enough for everyone,” and on the other hand, he zealously defends his collection points. Otherwise, he will have to carry the cardboard and polyethylene far from home, and this is already difficult for him.
The elderly man disdains to rummage through the mixed garbage containers: they are dirty and smelly. There, according to him, is where trash lies. He, on the other hand, deals with recyclable waste. For him, this difference is of fundamental importance.
The collection of recyclables in Moldova is not without competition. As for the “others” who also “hunt” for waste from stores, Mihai has not decided where he stands. On the one hand, “let them take what they need, there’s enough for everyone,” and on the other hand, he zealously defends his collection points. Otherwise, he will have to carry the cardboard and polyethylene far from home, and this is already difficult for him.
A warehouse in the yard
The man proudly showed us his hand-made warehouse:
“The guys who take the cardboard for recycling are amazed at how beautifully it is stacked. It can be immediately sent to the factory, they say!”
According to Mihai, before the war between Russia and Ukraine, Ukrainian enterprises took all the collected cardboard for processing.
“Now they are exporting it somewhere else,” the man thinks for a minute, probably, like us, about the war in a neighboring country and the consequences for the outside world.
“Well, at least they are taking it somewhere!”
Our hero gave us a tour of his site. We looked into the backyard. We were accompanied by three dogs, playing at our feet and wagging their tails in a friendly way. The man was forced to adopt the dogs six months ago after the previous owner, his neighbor, moved and left them. It is problematic to feed 3 more mouths, but his conscience did not allow to throw them out into the street. So he began to collect food waste in addition to the cardboard and the plastic film.
He agreed with the staff in a neighboring kindergarten that he would pick up the leftovers from the dining room. Now the half-eaten food, instead of going to the trash can, becomes food for foster dogs.
In Mihai's cardboard warehouse, we also noticed boxes of empty beer bottles. It turned out that when it comes to glass recyclables, “everything is under control”: he has friends who call him when they come across empty bottles in the city. The elderly man takes the collected glass to the brewery, which puts it back into circulation.
There were also boxes with glass jars in the yard. In these, jam is usually prepared for the winter. Mihai, apparently, was uncomfortable with their dusty, filthy appearance.
“I’ll wash them and take them to the collection point when I feel better,” he seemed to justify himself. In the neighborhood of his house, indeed, a glass container collection point has recently opened.
According to Mihai, before the war between Russia and Ukraine, Ukrainian enterprises took all the collected cardboard for processing.
“Now they are exporting it somewhere else,” the man thinks for a minute, probably, like us, about the war in a neighboring country and the consequences for the outside world.
“Well, at least they are taking it somewhere!”
Our hero gave us a tour of his site. We looked into the backyard. We were accompanied by three dogs, playing at our feet and wagging their tails in a friendly way. The man was forced to adopt the dogs six months ago after the previous owner, his neighbor, moved and left them. It is problematic to feed 3 more mouths, but his conscience did not allow to throw them out into the street. So he began to collect food waste in addition to the cardboard and the plastic film.
He agreed with the staff in a neighboring kindergarten that he would pick up the leftovers from the dining room. Now the half-eaten food, instead of going to the trash can, becomes food for foster dogs.
In Mihai's cardboard warehouse, we also noticed boxes of empty beer bottles. It turned out that when it comes to glass recyclables, “everything is under control”: he has friends who call him when they come across empty bottles in the city. The elderly man takes the collected glass to the brewery, which puts it back into circulation.
There were also boxes with glass jars in the yard. In these, jam is usually prepared for the winter. Mihai, apparently, was uncomfortable with their dusty, filthy appearance.
“I’ll wash them and take them to the collection point when I feel better,” he seemed to justify himself. In the neighborhood of his house, indeed, a glass container collection point has recently opened.
Recycling negotiator
We asked how Mihai knows about all the places where recyclables are taken. Indeed, in our experience, many people are helpless when faced with the need to sort and dispose of waste.
“How could I not know, it's not a secret!” he responded.
We were struck by how much this elderly man negotiates throughout the day: he calls recycling companies, communicates with store employees, negotiates with the kindergarten administration, learns about changes in the rules at collection points in the region... All this without Internet and mobile communications!
“These are difficult times,” the elderly man sighed. He pointed to a large-scale construction site a few tens of meters from the fence:
“Some guy is building a high-rise building and wants me to sell my house. But I was born and raised here and have no intention of moving.”
Every day he is increasingly worried about the pain in his knee. Mihai is afraid that one day he will not be able to collect waste, and his small source of income will disappear. He worries about the dogs too: who will pick up the kindergarten scraps for them if he is unable to?
“I’ll have to contact the municipal services,” he says, and the expression on his face shows that this prospect doesn’t make him too happy.
When we asked to assess the waste situation in Moldova, Mihai became sad. He says that he is disappointed with the ignorance of those around him and with how poorly the waste collection infrastructure works: “Somewhere there are containers for separate collection, and somewhere everything is in one heap.” He is perplexed why the country cannot organize a waste management system, like in Europe.
We were finishing the shooting process. A colleague caught interesting photos in the yard through the camera lens. The friendly puppy stood up on its hind legs, trying to get attention. Bags of plastic waste were patiently waiting to be handed over for recycling. And Mihai began to prepare for the “evening shift” in order to go to collect a new “harvest” of waste.
“How could I not know, it's not a secret!” he responded.
We were struck by how much this elderly man negotiates throughout the day: he calls recycling companies, communicates with store employees, negotiates with the kindergarten administration, learns about changes in the rules at collection points in the region... All this without Internet and mobile communications!
“These are difficult times,” the elderly man sighed. He pointed to a large-scale construction site a few tens of meters from the fence:
“Some guy is building a high-rise building and wants me to sell my house. But I was born and raised here and have no intention of moving.”
Every day he is increasingly worried about the pain in his knee. Mihai is afraid that one day he will not be able to collect waste, and his small source of income will disappear. He worries about the dogs too: who will pick up the kindergarten scraps for them if he is unable to?
“I’ll have to contact the municipal services,” he says, and the expression on his face shows that this prospect doesn’t make him too happy.
When we asked to assess the waste situation in Moldova, Mihai became sad. He says that he is disappointed with the ignorance of those around him and with how poorly the waste collection infrastructure works: “Somewhere there are containers for separate collection, and somewhere everything is in one heap.” He is perplexed why the country cannot organize a waste management system, like in Europe.
We were finishing the shooting process. A colleague caught interesting photos in the yard through the camera lens. The friendly puppy stood up on its hind legs, trying to get attention. Bags of plastic waste were patiently waiting to be handed over for recycling. And Mihai began to prepare for the “evening shift” in order to go to collect a new “harvest” of waste.