How a night market cut its rubbish in half
A night market that used to fill sixty rubbish bags a night now fills fewer than thirty, after vendors agreed to try a single shared washing station instead of throwaway plates and cups.
The market's sanitationsanitationthe systems and workers responsible for keeping a place clean and safe team built the station from three deep sinks and a water heater borrowed from a nearby restaurant that closes early.
Customers now pay a small deposit for a reusable bowl or cup, which they get back the moment they return it to any stall, not just the one they bought from.
A few vendors worried customers would simply walk off with the reusable dishes, but the market says fewer than one in a hundred bowls has gone missing since the system started.
Other night markets in the area have sent staff to watch how the washing station works, hoping to copy it before the next rainy season, when rubbish collection is often delayed for days at a time.
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