The economic crisis that gripped Myanmar since the 2021 military coup has forced millions out of the workforce. Many of them now gather recyclable materials to sell to traders
Waste collectors paddling polystyrene boats as they look for plastic and glass to recycle in Pazundaung Creek in Yangon. Image: Sai Aung Main / AFP©
Ma Yu launches her makeshift polystyrene boat into a Yangon creek for another day of trawling the filthy waters for plastic and tin cans with her team of "river cleaners".
Around 10 others join her in the dawn light, driven to work the foetid grey-brown murk of Pazundaung creek by the economic crisis that has gripped Myanmar since the 2021 military coup.
They gather recyclable materials to sell to traders, their only source of income since losing their jobs after the putsch that upended the economy and sparked widespread unrest.