Q&A: Suthang Mun-udom

June 6th, 2008

One man’s junk is another’s livelihood. Suthang Mun-udom, 44, goes through the city’s sois collecting garbage that he can sort and resell to factories that will recycle them into gleaming objects of consumption.

BK: How long have you been doing this job?

Suthang Mun-udom: About fi ve or six years. Before, I used to hawk sausages.

BK: Why do you like this job?

SM: It’s an honest living. Even if I earn a little on some days, I’m happy to do it.

BK: How long do you work each day?

SM: It’s really up to me. I usually work from 9am to 6pm.

BK: Where did you get your motor-cart?

SM: I bought it from Nakhon Sawan and it was brought here by truck. Actually, they’re available in Bangkok, but they’re more expensive, here.

BK: What do you usually collect?

SM: Almost everything. Bottles, paper, scrap iron, plastics. Copper is the most valuable trash you can fi nd. It costs around B200 a kilogram. It’s diffi cult to fi nd it in garbage, though. I have homes that regularly give or sell me this kind of stuff. It’s a win-win situation. They get to get rid of their junk and I get the material I want.

BK: If each home sorted its goods, would your job be easier?

SM: Of course! But who’s going to do that? I need to do it myself.

BK: Where do you sell?

SM: At big refuse buyers. They will weigh the stuff I’ve collected and pay me. Then they resell these materials to big factories.

BK: How much do you earn a day?

SM: It depends on how much stuff I can fi nd and its quality. Everything has its own rate. For example, broken glass or bottles are B1 a kilo and newspapers are B6 a kilo. But then again, it’s also up to the factories. Some pay more than others. I usually make about B150 a day, but I have to pay for the gasoline for my motor-cart as well.

BK: You have your own turf?

SM: No, garbage collectors are free to go everywhere. Everybody working in this fi eld knows one another. We don’t steal or fi ght over the same junk. There’s plenty of garbage to go around!