City cleaners are the unsung heroes of urban life, tirelessly working each morning to clear the streets before most people even wake up. Despite their essential contributions to keeping cities clean, they are often underpaid and overlooked. In cities like Mumbai, for example, residents generate over 11,000 metric tons of waste each day. Cleaning this enormous amount of trash falls on the shoulders of a vast, often invisible workforce.

Through my photography, I aim to capture the daily lives of these workers across India, Bangladesh, Central Asia, and the United States, highlighting the human faces behind the sweeping brushes. Whether in the crowded alleys of Mumbai, the streets of Dhaka, or the bustling avenues of New York, city cleaners are the backbone of urban hygiene, silently maintaining the spaces we often take for granted. Their work is indispensable, yet they continue to face poor working conditions and minimal wages, even as cities continue to produce staggering amounts of waste each day.