Residents here are complaining that waste pickers are overturning garbage containers and littering the city streets in search of scrap material they can sell for cash.

They say that the brightly colored new containers costing millions of riyals that Jeddah municipality introduced are of no use because of the behavior of these people.

The waste pickers are mostly African women and men, sometimes assisted by children. They sift through the garbage in search of scrap metal, cardboard, cans and bottles that they sell to agents of recycling companies.

Khaled Bafel, a resident of Marwa district in Jeddah, said the waste pickers are particularly active in unplanned residential areas.

He accused the municipality of doing little about the problem even though these activities are taking place in broad daylight. “There are no laws to deal with this behavior.”

Ali Karim said the activities of the waste pickers would affect the reputation of the city and repel visitors. They should be arrested and deported, he said, adding: “I don’t think the authorities are incapable of finding a radical solution to the issue.”

Naif Al-Badr said he learned that some pickup drivers pay SR400 for a small load of cans, and SR150 for cardboard cartons. The prices vary depending on the quality of the material, he said.