Donkey Carts

UPDATE: I was informed that animal above is not a donkey or a burro, but a mule. DUH! Like I know the difference.  I was raised in Iowa so I can educate the people about the differences between corn and soy bean fields or cows and pigs.  And just because I was raised in Iowa doesn't mean I was a farm gal.  I was raised in the 2nd biggest city in Iowa, a huge metropolis with more than 100,000 people.  OK, maybe I should have left it at the 2nd biggest city, but then people will actually give me a deadpan stare and ask, "There are cities in Iowa?"

On my first trip across the border a few years ago, I saw a donkey cart.  I thought donkey carts only existed in caricatures on pots for plants.  Lo and behold, they still exist in Mexico.  Trying not to stare too hard because I didn't want to appear like I'd never seen such a thing before, I tried to figure out the purpose of this antiquated mode of transport.  As near as I could figure, it was full of garbage.  In the US, I know certain types of scrap metal is worth money, but this cart was full of corn husks, scrap wood and a CD nailed to a board among other things.  This guy regularly goes down my road. What is the value in this junk?  Are people paying him to haul away their junk?  Please enlighten me.