In Kinshasa, artists transform imported garbage into body-sized costumes to protest global waste dumping and spotlight local poverty.
Joseph Zadeh reports for VICE.
In short:
- Kinshasa faces overwhelming garbage buildup from both domestic waste and imported trash, much of it from wealthier nations.
- A local subculture has created surreal costumes from trash — plastic bottles, car parts, electronics — drawing from the African mask tradition to express anger and resilience.
- Photographer Stephan Gladieu documented this movement, noting the disconnect between Congo’s rich natural resources and its dire living conditions.
Why this matters:
Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the paradox of resource wealth and infrastructural poverty is thrown into sharp relief by the mountains of trash that crowd the city’s streets. Despite being home to vast reserves of cobalt, copper, and other minerals that power the global green transition, much of the country’s population lacks access to clean water, reliable electricity, or functioning sanitation systems. Into this vacuum has come another burden: imported waste. Countries with more robust environmental laws and waste management systems often divert their trash to places like Kinshasa, where oversight is weak and enforcement is weaker. The result is a swelling public health crisis, with local communities forced to live amid growing landfills that leach chemicals into water sources and attract disease-carrying pests.
Related: E-waste linked to decreased fertility hormones in Nigerian men
