Mountain waste in India could exceed Taj Mahal

Ghazipur Hill was created in 1984 and in 2002 exceeded the planned capacity: from that moment it should have been closed. However, he continued to grow ten meters each year, with the contribution of hundreds of trucks that unload every day at least two thousand tons of waste, despite an intervention that even resulted in the Indian Supreme Court.

According to the engineer Arun Kumar, Superintendent of East Delhi Region, the hill has reached 65 meters in recent weeks.

A recent study has shown that foul odors and toxic gases produced by the "Mountain of shame" affects the health of those living in nearby areas up to five kilometers, creating respiratory and digestive problems.

The methane produced by the decomposition of the waste often ignites spontaneously and it takes days to extinguish the fires.

The leachate (liquid resulting from a process of percolation of a fluid through a solid), which is released from garbage, flows into an open channel that runs through the neighborhood.

However, the New Delhi authorities continue to reply that they have no alternative.

Major cities in India are among the largest producers of waste in the world, currently reaching 62 million tonnes per year.

According to the latest forecasts from a government agency, Indian waste could reach at least 165 million tonnes by 2030, generating an even more serious environmental problem than the current one.