On the water with Myanmar's 'river cleaners'

This photo taken on January 14, 2023 shows waste collectors paddling polystyrene boats as they look for plastic and glass to recycle in Pazundaung Creek in Yangon. - Dozens of Myanmar waste collectors are taking to the murky waters of a Yangon creek after being driven to find work by a post-coup economic crisis. - AFP

YANGON, Feb 7, 2023 (AFP): Ma Yu launches her makeshift polystyrene boat into a Yangon creek for another day of trawling the filthy waters for plastic and tin cans with her team of "river cleaners".

Around 10 others join her in the dawn light, driven to work the foetid grey-brown murk of Pazundaung creek by the economic crisis that has gripped Myanmar since the 2021 military coup.