DISTRICT 68

District 68 is a story of family, of several generations, it's the story of a whole village...

In Istanbul, you've surely noticed the men who constantly roam with their little hand carts, going from one trash bin to another, collecting paper, plastics, metals... They are the ragpickers of Istanbul, an essential part of sorting and recycling in Turkey's largest city, with hundreds of ragpickers working in various depots throughout Istanbul.

District 68 is the origin of the ragpickers from the Kucuk Pazard (Little Bazaar) neighborhood in the European part of the city, as they all come from this district in central Anatolia, from a small village near the provincial capital Aksaray.

It was Sevinç who created this depot in 1990. Today, his sons, along with all the men in his family and their extended family, well, almost the entire village works in this depot.

It's a job that spans day and night; the men are in constant motion, with no set time for collecting plastic, cardboard, metal, and all sorts of recyclable materials.

With their carts, they traverse the neighborhood, taking about three hours to fill their bags with recyclable materials, and once they return to the depot, it's time for sorting and weighing the collected items. Then they head out again, often making two or three rounds a day. Depending on what they collect, they can earn between 20 to 50 euros a day.

District 68 is always on their minds while they are in Istanbul; they even write these numbers and this word on the walls of the neighborhood and the depot. They have left their wives and children for 2 to 3 months to earn as much money as possible at the depot. Then they return to the village for a month or two to reunite with their families and enjoy some leisure time while gradually renovating their homes…