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Turkey’s Garbage Collectors Create Library With Books Rescued From Trash

By Regina Sienra on October 8, 2024

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One person’s trash is another person’s literary treasure. In Ankara, Turkey, a group of garbage collectors couldn't help but notice a pattern—they kept finding books in the trash that they picked up around the city. Sad to see resources that could easily benefit others being thrown away, they came up with an idea. The workers created a library with the books they rescued from being sent to a landfill.

The garbage collectors began organizing the books in an underground brick factory. The spot, which had long been abandoned, was part of sanitation department headquarters. Thanks to its aged brick façade and long corridors, the space turned out to be perfect for a library.

Once they sorted the books by category, the workers visited the library before and after their shifts. Then, they began lending out tomes to their friends and families. As the library gained traction, the garbage collectors eventually opened things up to the public in 2017, and books began to be donated instead of thrown out.

With a collection of over 6,000 books, the library features Turkish literature and non-fiction. It also boasts a popular kid’s section with comic books and an entire section for scientific research. For those visiting Ankara and those who speak a second language, books in English and French are also available. More recently, it got a lounge area for readers and chess boards for visitors.

Thrilled by this mission, the local municipality, Çankaya, funded the salary of a full-time library employee. “We started to discuss the idea of creating a library from these books. And when everyone supported it, this project happened,” said Çankaya Mayor Alper Taşdelen. Now, a garbage truck has been converted into a mobile library that doubles as a donations truck.

The endeavor has reached beyond Ankara. Not only are the garbage collectors proud of the library—something many didn't have access to growing up—but village schoolteachers from all over Turkey are requesting books from this project. “On one hand, there were those who were leaving these books on the streets,” Taşdelen said. “On the other hand, others were looking for these books.”