How Port-au-Prince's water sachets are clogging up its streets – in pictures

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Small plastic water bags may be one of Haiti’s safest and most affordable ways to hydrate – but once discarded, they contaminate its streets and rivers. Now one organisation is cleaning up the capital, Port-au-Prince, and putting this trash epidemic to good use

Bahare Khodabande

  • Limited access to safe drinking water is an ongoing struggle in Haiti. One of the most popular solutions to this are sachés dlo, 9oz water bags that are sold in every corner of the country. At three bags for five gourdes (about 7p), water bags are an affordable option for a population with a 60% unemployment rate. However, in the capital, Port-au-Prince, many thousands of discarded water bags are clogging up the city’s streets and rivers. All photographs: Bahare Khodabande
    Sachés dlo water bags are used widely in Haiti. But their disposal is a complicated challenge.

  • Sachés dlo are often distributed in Haitian schools. According to the World Bank, waterborne diseases are one of the leading causes of child mortality
    Sachés dlo are often distributed in Haitian schools. According to the World Bank, waterborne diseases are one of the leading causes of child mortality

  • With the temperature constantly above 30C in summer, they are the cheapest, most practical way to keep hydrated
    With the temperature constantly above 30C in summer, sachés dlo are the cheapest, most practical way to keep hydrated. They are sold in large numbers on Haiti’s streets every day.

  • Merchants transport the water bags around the central Haitian commune of Saut-d’Eau
    Some merchants find innovative ways of transporting the bags around the city.

  • There are very few rubbish bins on the streets, and those that do exist are often overloaded and unusable
    There are very few rubbish bins on the streets, and those that do exist are often overloaded and unusable.

  • Most of the plastic bags end up on the streets and in rivers, causing environmental and health issues, particularly in slums and poorer areas
    Most of these plastic bags end up on the streets and in rivers, causing environmental and health issues, particularly in slums and poor areas.

  • ‘We tried to negotiate a recycling plan with the government. They increased taxes on plastic, which led us to believe that there would be trash collections and recycling, but nothing ever happened,’ says Alex Zamor, vice-president of the Alaska water production factory in Port-au-Prince
    “We tried to negotiate a recycling plan with the government. They increased taxes on plastic, which led us to believe that there would be trash collections and recycling, but nothing ever happened,” says Alex Zamor, vice president of Alaska water production factory.

  • ‘They want us to pay the costs of recycling,’ says Zamor. Since the international market is not interested in buying the recycled plastic bags, Alaska would have to raise prices to cover the cost of recycling – which defeats the purpose of producing affordable sanitised water. Alaska, alone, produces 1,800,000 bags a day
    “They want us to pay the costs for recycling,” says Zamor. Since the international market is not interested in buying the recycled plastic bags, Alaska would have to raise their prices to cover the cost of recycling – which defeats the purpose of producing affordable sanitised water. Alaska, alone, produces 1,800,000 bags a day, on average.

  • However, there are no laws and regulations in place, according to Zamor, to control the quality of the water that’s being packaged. Any individual with a packaging machine can start producing and selling water bags, with no supervision
    However, there are no laws and regulations in place, according to Zamor, to control the quality of the water that’s being packaged. Any individual with a packaging machine can start producing and selling water bags, with no supervision.

  • A small organisation called Peace Cycle started a recycling initiative in Port-au-Prince about a year ago, where they collect, wash and sanitise used water bags, and make shoulder bags and accessories from them
    A small organisation called Peace Cycle started a recycling initiative about a year ago, where they collect, wash and sanitise used water bags, and make shoulder bags and accessories from them.

  • Peace Cycle now has 11 staff members. Rose Heimann, founder of the organisation, and her team recycle about 500 used water bags a day
    Peace Cycle now has 11 staff members. Rose and her team recycle about 500 used water bags a day.

  • The products produced by Peace Cycle are sold for anywhere between $3 for small pouches to $24 for larger bags. ‘We sell about 10 products a week,’ says Rose. ‘I wish there was an understanding of how labour-intensive this is, and just because it’s made out of trash doesn’t mean it can be free’
    The products produced by Peace Cycle are sold for anywhere between $3 for small pouches to $24 for larger bags. “We sell about 10 products a week,” says Rose Heimann, founder of the organisation. “I wish there was an understanding of how labour-intensive this is, and just because it’s made out of trash doesn’t mean it can be free.”
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