AFP - Thai grandmother Nom Prom-on rummages through rubbish bins looking for bottles, cans and paper to trade for food and other goods at a recycling cooperative providing a lifeline for Bangkok's poor.

Riding an old motorcycle with a rubbish cart attached, the 61-year-old and her husband Rai rise early to beat rival scavengers to claim the best of the city's recyclable trash, which they take to a cash-free "zero baht shop".

The couple have combed bins for decades, but their earnings of less than 10 dollars per day are not always enough to live on, so they turned to the cooperative.

"When we're starving, we can find rubbish to exchange for rice to eat, detergent, soap and everything," said Nom, who also has grandchildren to raise and feed.

By selling to the recycling plants in bulk, the cooperative gets a better rate than individual scavengers would manage on their own.