Turkcycling

Another interesting difference between Istanbul and the U.S. is how Turks recycle. So far, I haven't seen any effort to separate garbage into waste and recyclables or infrastructure like separate bins for trash, plastics, and aluminum like one sees in Europe.

Instead one throws away everything in the same bag, which then goes into communal dumpsters. Then, a group of men called "çöp toplayici" (roughly "cherp tup-lie-i-gee", misleadingly meaning "garbage collectors") go around pulling big cloth bags on specialized metal tube carts with handles that loop over their shoulders and pick through everyone's dumpsters looking for things they can recycle or perhaps resell. These men are distinct from the actual garbage men, who empty the dumpsters and whom I don't recall seeing.