Throwing trash away has become second-nature to humans living in modern civilisation. We don’t think about where our discarded items end up or the people who deal with them. In a densely populated city such as Hong Kong, waste is a complex issue. Just by walking around the city we will come across many activities that produce a lot of waste — endless construction sites, shops that use plastic bags, restaurant takeaways that use single-use plastic containers and utensils, takeaway tea shops. In fact, almost all human activities generate waste, even if you are just writing down notes and decide to tear out a piece of paper and toss it in the bin. It isn’t the purpose of this project to tackle the big issues, but it is my intention to shine a light on the places and people who are part of the mechanism that helps deal with these issues.

I recorded outside to avoid the reverberant room, as the area is quite large and echoey. I was able to capture the workers having a conversation with each other on the phone while they were in the rooms next to each other. During their conversation is when you can hear the spatiality the most. The sounds of the wheels and clanging of the trolley is also quite satisfying to capture. In the distance, bin covers closing and the dumping of trash can be heard towards the front and construction, beeping of trucks can be heard near the back.

The Zoom H3 and camera were set up in front of the trash collection point like so: