Empowering the unseen eco-warriors of South-east Asia

THEY are mobilised before dawn.

Found across South-east Asia, this army’s weapons consist of bags and baskets. Protective gear might include broad straw hats and cloth face masks. There are no tanks or transport vehicles – only bicycles or their own two feet.

This contingent, ill-equipped as it is, may well be the elite fighting force needed to win the war on waste, and efforts are underway to give it the tools to succeed.