Garbage Dreams (USA)

It seems that up until recently Cairo, Egypt had no centralized municipal garbage service. Instead the work of garage collection was performed by a community of poor residents who made their living picking up and recycling trash. This documentary profiles three young men involved in the trade specifically and the community around them in general. The efforts while low tech are presented as fairly advanced in results - claiming an 80% recycling rate (way above most developed country efforts). With the more recent hiring of foreign garbage collection/processing firms the livelihood of this 60,000 strong group is threatened. The film follows the three boys/men as they take different paths through this set of challenges.

It's an interesting film and I definitely learned about a world I didn't know existed. My only (small) complaint is that I actually would have liked to learn more about how they do what they do in a deeper way. But overall it held my attention and taught me something. So not a runaway fantastic doc but worth adding to your list if the subject interests you.