The 'waste basket of Chureca' has existed since the late 1960's in the Acahualinca district of Managua, Nicaragua. It covers 42 hectares, is bombarded with thousands of tonnes of waste a day and is home to over 170 struggling families. By day over 1500 more Nicaraguans arrive at the site, some of whom are children who have been sent by their parents, others come by their own initiative. All compete with the adults to find, harvest and re-sell recyclable material. Of the minors who go to the waste basket - 88% it has respiratory problems, 62% suffer from parasites and 42% have serious skin diseases. Although the sky is clear and blue the air is thick of burning waste or rotting waste. Little houses or 'casitas' lie in a mixed muddle of rubbish and waste. The house at the back of shot is made up of an eclectic collection of doors, wooden planks, dustbin bags, hanging bits of ripped tarpaulin, corrugated iron strips and whatever waste material seems to have been lying around. Propped up against the house and in the foreground are various 'spare' parts such as bits of bicylces, rusting machine parts, cardboard boxes, plastic tubs and jerry cans and rotting matresses. Green bushes and trees surprisingly grow in the muddle of rubbish around the houses. In the background lie more 'make-shift' houses, again comprised of spare parts, wood, metal, barb wire etc. In the foreground and background lie steaming heaps of waste and rubbish. In the front of shot stands a local who lives amongst the rubbish. Surprisingly he is dressed reasonably well, with dusty boots and a cloth or t-shirt wrapped around his head and face to protect him from the heat of the sun and the stench of rubbish. Plastic bags blow around in the air while clother have been hung up to dry infront of the main house in shot.