Cleaning
For most of my life in Rotterdam, I walked through clean streets. I enjoyed clean parks, clean neighborhoods, and clean public spaces without fully appreciating what it took to keep them that way. Then I had the opportunity to work behind the scenes in the cleaning industry, and everything changed. I discovered that cleaning in Rotterdam is not simply about picking up rubbish. It is a massive operation involving trained professionals, advanced technology, recycling systems, waste management, graffiti removal, and endless organization. As someone with roots on the West Coast of Africa, I could not help comparing what I saw in Rotterdam with what I had experienced elsewhere. The contrast fascinated me. This is the story of what I learned inside Rotterdam’s invisible cleaning machine.
