Recycling at its trendiest. Photo: Courtesy of Trashy Bags

In Ghana most people drink water from little plastic bags, or sachets. Once emptied, these sachets are often tossed on the ground, clogging storm drains, littering beaches and polluting the ocean, says a recent CNN article. In fact, water sachets are the most common type of trash found on the streets of Accra, the country's capital city.

British entrepreneur Stuart Gold started Trashy Bags to save the sachets from going to waste. The Accra-based NGO pays locals to collect discarded sachets and sew them into purses, grocery bags and other useful accessories. So far, Trashy Bags has collected over 15 million sachets, notes CNN. And their eco-friendly creations are proving to be a hit among tourists as well as locals.

In addition to tidying up the streets, Trashy Bags is also fueling Ghana's feeble job market. More than 60 Ghanaians are employed full-time to sew the bags, and 100 people work part-time to collect water sachets and juice pouches. Trashy Bags' founder explains the project's environmental and economic mission on the nonprofit's website:

Every bag that we sell reduces land pollution, keeps people employed and serves as a very visible reminder that plastic waste can often be put to good use long after its initial purpose has expired. Every bag that we sell is an opportunity to educate the public about their environment and their responsibility to keep it clean for the good of humanity and of the planet's ecosystems as a whole.

Photo: AdamCohn (flickr)

Cairo's trash-filled neighborhoods are the proud home of nearly 70,000 Coptic Christian zabaleen people and the majority of Egypt's pig population.

For decades, the zabaleen have earned a living off of collecting trash in Cairo's slums. In an average day, the zabaleen collect almost 6,000 tons of trash. Food scraps make up more than half of the trash and are fed to the pigs. Most of what remains is then recycled by zabaleen men.

Even though there are no reported cases of swine flu in Egypt — and you can't catch the virus from contact with pigs — the government has decided to slaughter all of Egypt's pigs as a preventative measure. Some think there there may be ulterior motives behind the mass slaughter as well. The New York Times reports that the government claims that getting rid of the pigs would force the zabaleen to clean up their neighborhoods.

The Egyptian government has promised to humanly butcher the swine according to Islamic law and freeze the meat. It is uncertain whether or not this meat will be consumed by Egypt's non-Muslim population. In compensation they will pay about $180 per pig.

Pigs importance goes beyond money for the zabaleen community. Along with the income their meat brings in they also play an important role as a cleaning crew of sorts, and the zabaleen feel targeted by the government. The Coptic Christian zabaleen are a minority in Egypt — 90 percent of the population is Muslim. Since it is against Islamic law to eat pigs, the zabaleen question whether or not the mass-slaughter in the name of swine flu is merely a disguise for religious motives.

More pigs are being slaughtered by the day and the zabaleen continue to plead with the government to not destroy their livelihoods. Ayman Saed told the BBC that when the government officers took his pigs it felt "as if they were killing me."

In a last ditch resort to save their pigs and their livelihoods, The New York Times reports that the zabaleen are now trying to get the government to let them keep their pigs on farms outside of they city. The zabaleen could cart out the organic waste to the farm and keep making a living off of collecting trash. So far, the government hasn't come around.

Most of us haul our trash out to the curb or to a dumpster once a week or so. Not Dave Chameides. In an experiment to see how much he can reduce his personal waste, he's keeping all his trash in his basement for a year.

The average U.S. resident discards 1,600 pounds of trash a year. But by choosing to reuse containers, pass along food scraps to the family dog and keep composting worms, Chameides has about 60 pounds of trash in his basement. (Which is probably less trash than most people who aren't even trying to use their basement as a dumpster.)

Chameides is chronicling his experience on his blog, 365 Days of Trash, which also features links and tips on what you can do to reduce your waste.

Over a million people live in Kibera. Photo: Chrissy Olson (flickr)

Trash dumps are being turned into organic gardens in a notorious Nairobi slum.

Youth in Kandimiru, a village within Kibera — known as Africa's biggest urban slum — are growing and selling produce on the former rubbish heaps, potentially easing the food crisis acutely felt by Africa's poor.

The science-fiction site I09 features photos of the transformation, calling it "the future of urban agriculture." It could also be the future of Kibera’s youth: "Most of the members were criminals who have chosen to reform," Mohammed Abdullahi, an official with the Kibera Youth Initiative for Community Development, tells IRIN news.

There are other indicators of change in the Kenyan slum, where vigilante groups rather than police patrol the streets. The Associated Press reports that some residents of Kibera "have helped construct a network of public latrines that recycle human waste into gas for cooking and light" and others, with the help of a Swiss aid organization, "use sunlight to purify drinking water, dramatically slashing cases of waterborne disease."

The most futuristic advance that could arise in Kibera involves using the methane gas from toilets to power people's homes. According to the AP, "Residents pay three cents to use one of eight drop toilets installed around a buried tank. The waste goes into an airtight 'biodigester,' where methane gas filters into an upper tank. The gas can be used to light stoves, turn on lamps, or heat water, although it is not yet pumped to individual homes."

Now that would make news on I09.