This dataset contains information relating to the temporal and geographic distribution of clinically relevant bacterial pathogens on waste materials (plastics, fabrics, organics) within urban waste piles, in Blantyre, Malawi. The data was collected between June 2022 and July 2023. This work was supported by the UKRI Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) as part of the GCRF SPACES project [grant number NE/V005847/1] and the Plastic Vectors project, "Microbial hitch-hikers of marine plastics: the survival, persistence & ecology of microbial communities in the 'Plastisphere'" [grant number NE/S005196/1]. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/994c9c66-cf12-44af-9716-810c18985e18
