Living on India's toxic landfill mountains

Towering above Delhi, a toxic waste mountain dominates the skyline - feasted upon by birds, flies, vermin and cows, and emitting an inescapable stench of rot. Watch the full film ► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRzkXGi153o These ‘trash mountains’ loom so large – several miles wide and more than 200ft (60 metres) high – that they are visible from across the city. Subscribe ► https://www.youtube.com/user/theguardian?sub_confirmation=1 Every day more than 10,000 tonnes of Delhi’s rubbish is discarded here - there is a whole ecosystem of people who make a living off it, and many begin working here as children. The Guardian’s Hannah Ellis-Petersen visits the rubbish dump located in Bhalswa, where everything from vegetable peelings to glass bottles, plastic packaging, batteries, broken toys and discarded clothes end up. Methane emissions from India’s thousands of dumpsites, the largest of which are in urban areas, have been surging in recent years, especially as the populations of cities such as Delhi continue to grow. Landfills and rubbish dumps account for more than 14% of India’s total methane emissions, the second highest contributor after agriculture. Delhi residents, who frequently breathe the world’s worst-quality air, widely view these dumpsites as apocalyptic places, dark monuments to the city’s failures to deal with the mounting problem of rubbish and pollution. #india #delhi #transhmountains #landfill #rubbishclearance #rubbishdump #dump #trash #toxic #recycling