"When you get close to the boilers, I feel like vomiting, you know, because I'm a sick person and I can't stand the smell, especially now in need". Ramadan tells Citizens Channel.
Ramazani has been collecting recyclable waste in Tirana bins for about 4 years, after a failed attempt to gain asylum in Germany. This has not been his permanent job, he has worked in various factories and plants during the previous regime, but in recent years he has been forced to turn to boilers to earn enough money for survival. The financial aid he receives from the state does not even enable him to buy the medicines necessary for his heart disease.
Collecting and selling waste is not an easy job, but also illegal! Three years previously the Municipality of Tirana decided that it would not allow the collection of waste individually and for this there would be penalties even for large wholesalers. According to the Municipality, the solution to the problem was the Sharra landfill.
In the year 2018 the individual collection of waste was declared an illegal behavior as "Misdemeanor in the field of the environment" by the Municipality of Tirana through a Decision of the Municipal Council and administrative measures such as fines of up to 20 Lek were foreseen.
A group of organizations which operate in the field of human rights in Albania, addressed the Municipal Council through an open letter where, among other things, they asked not to approve one of the articles that had to do with individual collection and recycling. These organizations considered this article as a violation of basic human rights.
Ramazan's family is one of the many families that were affected by this policy of the Municipality of Tirana. Having accurate statistics regarding the number of households or persons collecting waste is difficult because they work informally. Based on the last report made by the commercial wing of the World Bank, there are about 1200 families that provide income from waste recycling in Tirana.
Ramazani tells Citizens Channel that the presence of the municipal police is constant.
"Yes, they won't let us collect the cans. They drive us to where they sometimes take our bags, load them into trucks and run away. I will prosecute you, I will fine you. At the moment we are without work, without anything", he confesses.
From the data that Citizens Channel provided through a right to information request, it revealed that during 2018, the municipal police imposed 146 administrative measures worth 287.000 lek against people who collect recyclable waste in the territory of Tirana Municipality.
Despite the call of organizations in defense of human rights, the City Council of Tirana approved the decision, which has been in effect for about 2 years.
Tirana is the largest city in Albania both geographically and by population. It is often referred to as "the city of 1 million inhabitants".
In 2017, approximately 1,8 million tons of urban waste were generated.
