Makoko 2035: An Encyclopedia

Recycling and Re-use

Makoko is a city built on waste diverted from the landfills of the Lagos mainland. Throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries, waste was used as part of a terraforming process in which the refuse was allowed to settle to the bottom of the lagoon and then covered with layers of sand. This process was modified to reduce toxicity and to improve the foundations of buildings that were beginning to be built in multiple levels. By the year 2025, the first wave of local hackers, makers, and folk-engineers of Makoko—educated both by the teachers of the Floating School and by their access to the internet—developed a more systematic process for up-cycling and reuse of e-waste and raw materials. This requires the maintaining of ties to lower-level city waste management workers in Lagos as well as a flexible trade system for acquiring the goods that these workers offer. 

The acquisition of materials and e-waste is a highly risk-laden activity in 2035. The moratorium on Makokoans trading for raw materials on the mainland has resulted in the arrest and severe punishment of any "trasher" caught picking or otherwise trading for e-waste and discarded materials. Often, hackers must engage in this activity themselves, as the components they are seeking may not be recognizable to trashers unfamiliar with electronics. 

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