
-
'I'm alive': Russian Kursk evacuees reunite with families
-
China calls media outlets facing Trump funding axe 'notorious'
-
Paris police evict migrants from theatre after months-long occupation
-
Markets track Wall St gains as tech inspires Hong Kong
-
Australia slams reported targeting of citizen by Hong Kong
-
Israel vows to fight on in Gaza after deadliest strikes since truce
-
Historic fantasy 'Assassin's Creed' sparks bitter battles
-
Bulgaria ski resort, once buzzing, creaks under crumbling infrastructure
-
Ivory Coast's epochal prehistoric finds pass unseen
-
US to execute four Death Row inmates this week
-
Trump treatment of Columbia puts US universities on edge
-
Astronauts finally head home after unexpected nine-month ISS stay
-
Kiribati eyes deep-sea mining deal with China
-
Big-hitting New Zealand crush Pakistan by five wickets for 2-0 lead
-
Colombian influencer puts the pizzazz into recycling
-
Under Trump, Washington cultural complex enters uncertain era
-
No Jokic, no problem as Gordon, Nuggets stun Warriors
-
220 reported dead as Israel pounds Gaza in most intense strikes since ceasefire
-
Hong Kong leader says concerns over Panama ports deal warrant 'attention'
-
New Zealand chasing 136 to win second Pakistan T20
-
Trump and Putin set for 'very critical' Ukraine call
-
German parliament to vote on huge spending boost for defence, infrastructure
-
Australia slams reported targetting of citizen by Hong Kong
-
China EV giant BYD soars after 5-minute charging platform unveiled
-
Israel pounds Hamas in Gaza in strikes that rescuers say killed 121
-
Red-hot Forest striker Wood targets New Zealand history at World Cup
-
'We will preserve them': saving Cambodia's crocodiles
-
Japan set to seal World Cup spot as Son aims to forget Spurs woes
-
Huthis claim new attack on American warships, report new US strikes
-
Asian markets track Wall St gains as tech inspires Hong Kong
-
Japan victims voice fears 30 years after sarin subway attack
-
Bach's successor needs cool head to guide Olympics through stormy seas: experts
-
What happens to the human body in deep space?
-
Nvidia showcases AI chips as it shrugs off DeepSeek
-
Legalizing magic mushrooms under Trump? Psychedelic fans remain skeptical
-
Fired US federal worker in need of releasing steam? Try the internet
-
'No going back': Serbia protests heap pressure on government
-
Mosaic Hosts 2025 Analyst Day
-
Senville Named Official Partner of FC Dallas, Expanding Innovation and Community Impact
-
Fineqia AG Partners with ETPLink to Drive Primary Market Efficiency
-
Helium One Global Ltd Announces Jackson-4 Intermediate Section Drilling Complete
-
Agronomics Limited Announces Exercise of Shellbay options
-
Trump touts control over famed arts venue
-
Trump taps Michelle Bowman to be US Fed vice chair for supervision
-
Jury deliberates US pipeline case with free speech implications
-
European star-gazing agency says Chile green power plant will ruin its view
-
Carney says Canada 'too reliant on US' on UK, France trip
-
Starbucks ordered to pay $50m for hot tea spill
-
Talks on divisive deep-sea mining resume in Jamaica
-
Astronauts finally to return after unexpected 9-month ISS stay

Colombian influencer puts the pizzazz into recycling
Colombian influencer Sara Samaniego braids her long straight hair, checks her make-up in a mirror, places her phone in the center of a ring light and flashes a big smile for the camera.
"Hola mis recicla-amores! (Hello my recycling loves)," the 32-year-old, who is on a mission to teach Colombians how to sort their waste, says to greet her half-a-million Instagram followers.
Samaniego, who wears blue overalls and a baseball cap on backwards as part of her "Marce, la recicladora" (Marce, the recycler) social media alter ego, has also become an unofficial spokeswoman for the 74,000 people who rummage through the garbage of Latin America's fourth-biggest economy every day.
Colombian cities have no public recycling systems.
Instead, they rely on informal waste pickers to go through bins and garbage left out for collection to salvage cardboard, glass, plastic and other reusable materials.
Across the world, between 20 and 34 million people play a crucial role in environmental protection by collecting and sorting waste recyclables -- dirty, dangerous work for which most are paid a pittance.
- Making ends meet -
Throughout the developing world, waste pickers can be seen pulling carts laden high with bric-a-brac through dense traffic.
Samaniego tries to boost their visibility by profiling waste pickers on her YouTube and Instagram accounts.
She "encourages people to understand the work of recyclers from the inside," Zoraya Avendano, the manager of a warehouse where the recyclers sell their wares for a few pesos, told AFP.
Bogota, a city of eight million people, produces 9,000 tons of waste each day, according to a 2023 Greenpeace report, of which 17 percent is recycled -- the same proportion as New York, according to the GrowNYC recycling group.
Recycler Mary Luz Torres, 50, spends two hours travelling by bus from her home in the working-class south of Bogota to the wealthier north, where she plies her trade.
A fluorescent vest is her only form of protection from the cars and trucks zooming past, as she lugs a cart spray-painted with her name through the street.
"You have to go out and find a way to make ends meet," she said.
Pedro Talero, 55, spends his days collecting trash, which he sorts by night under a bridge.
On a good day he earns around $20, double the minimum wage.
"Some people look down on us," he said, but added that growing environmental awareness is leading to greater recognition of "our services to the planet."
- Growing recognition -
Colombia's leftist President Gustavo Petro last year rewarded the work of waste pickers by giving them a monopoly on recycling for 15 years.
"If traditional informal recyclers are compensated, we lift many people out of poverty. We lift many children out of child labor. We lift many women out of indignity," Petro said, crediting them with "improving the balance between humankind and nature."
Samaniego's contribution has been an attempt to glamorize the trade, with how-to posts set to tracks by Colombian stars such as Shakira and Karol G.
Born in Bogota, she developed a passion for nature on childhood holidays in the countryside.
Making a documentary about recycling while studying communications put her on the path to environmental influencer.
When she launched her YouTube channel six years ago, she said, there were "a lot of videos about music, dance, cooking, sports but the environment was rarely discussed."
Samaniego's winning formula is to inject levity into a subject characterized by earnestness.
The response has been thousands of questions and comments on her posts each day, and growing renown.
She gets stopped on the street for selfies, was recently a special guest on a TV reality show and is regularly invited to give talks at schools and businesses.
She owes much of her knowledge to informal recyclers, whom she calls her teachers.
To repay them, she fundraises on social media to buy them equipment, such as safety gloves and face masks, or to send them on a well-deserved holiday to the sea.
"I am fulfilling my goal of being an agent of change in the country," she says.
L.Davis--AMWN