BEKASI (Indonesia) — Even in the pouring rain, in the middle of the night, they are out scavenging, wearing headlamps to scan a mountain of rotting garbage more than 15 stories high.

The trash pickers, some trudging up the heap in mismatched plastic boots, use a hooked metal tool called a “ganco” to flip items over their heads and into large rattan baskets strapped on their backs. A few sort through the trash with their bare hands.