Trash Mountain towers over Delhi

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Delhi’s rubbish mountain set to tower higher than the Taj Mahal




One is a towering monument to love. The other is a towering monument to waste.

The mountain of rubbish at the Ghazipur landfill on the outskirts of Delhi is growing so fast that it could be taller than the Taj Mahal within a year, bringing an unwelcome landmark to the Indian capital.

Taking up the area of more than 40 football pitches on the edges of a city which the UN says is the world’s most polluted capital, the Ghazipur dump rises by nearly 10 metres (33 feet) a year. According to east Delhi’s superintendent engineer Arun Kumar, it is already more than 65 metres high.

At its rate of growth, it will be taller than the 73-metre Taj in Agra in 2020. India’s Supreme Court warned last year that red warning lights would soon have to be put on the dump to alert passing jets.

Ghazipur was opened in 1984 and reached its capacity in 2002 when it should have been closed. But the city’s rubbish keeps arriving in hundreds of trucks. Officials say that about 2,000 tonnes of rubbish is dumped at the site every day.

In 2018, a section of the hill collapsed in heavy rains killing two people. Dumping was banned after the deaths, but the measure lasted only a few days because authorities could not find an alternative. Fires, sparked by methane gas coming from the dump, regularly break out and take days to extinguish.

Shambhavi Shukla, senior researcher at the Centre for Science and Environment in Delhi, told the AFP news agency that methane belching from the garbage could become even more deadly when mixed with the atmosphere. Meanwhile, a black toxic liquid oozes from the dump into a local canal. “It all needs to be stopped as the continuous dumping has severely polluted the air and ground water,” said Chitra Mukherjee, head of Chintan, an environment advocacy group.

Residents say the dump often makes breathing virtually impossible. “The poisonous smell has made our lives hell. People fall sick all the time,” said Puneet Sharma, a 45-year-old local resident.

Indian cities are among the world’s largest rubbish producers, generating 62 million tonnes of waste annually. By 2030, that could rise to 165 million tonnes, according to government figures.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/...-to-tower-higher-than-the-taj-mahal-8b0sdnw03

Look at that heap in the background. It really does look like a mountain. Delhi used to be the capital city in India, quite shocking the state of it these days.

 

[troodon]

India should start promoting this for tourism. I wonder what the smell will be like.

If I had not known that it is trash mountain, I would have thought the picture was taken at Eastern or Western Ghats in South India.

 

[PakLFC]

Indian people will see this as a great accomplishment They'll boast how another record has been broken by them.

 

[ILcricket]

Look at that heap in the background. It really does look like a mountain. Delhi used to be the capital city in India, quite shocking the state of it these days.

it is disgusting . Very refreshing to see neutral Britishers concerned about this .

 

[slipcatch]

Over 1.2 billion people in a third world country, not surprise to see that.

 

[Swashbuckler]

The situation in Chennai is no better, not such a huge mountain but many hills of garbage even inside the city. Solid waste management looks like an impossibility in India with shortage of space and such high population density.

 

[PakLFC]

Why don't they do something about it? It's disgusting just to look at. Imagine the people who live next to this filth and the health risks that come with it.

 

[shane]

Wow! That's actually unbelievable that they have allowed this to happen. Especially in the capital. And they seem to be doing nothing about it. Incredible!

 

[Syed1]

Supa powa 2020

 

[troodon]

The situation in Chennai is no better, not such a huge mountain but many hills of garbage even inside the city. Solid waste management looks like an impossibility in India with shortage of space and such high population density.

Population is our strength. Indian people should have more kids.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Have seen this in real. Absolutely disgusting. 100's of trucks loaded with trash are standing there everyday. Can't imagine how local residents tolerate this.

 

[CricketCartoons]

Wow! That's actually unbelievable that they have allowed this to happen. Especially in the capital. And they seem to be doing nothing about it. Incredible!

It is not the capital, but outside in the bordering state of UP, where Delhi dumps its trash.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

It is not the capital, but outside in the bordering state of UP, where Delhi dumps its trash.

Don't you live in UP too?

 

[CricketCartoons]

Don't you live in UP too?

Please don't indulge in personal comments and stick to the topic.

 

[dhump]

They can cover it with proper mud and soil and turn it into a mountain; this is quite a common practice here. It is also possible then to plant trees and greenery on top of it and turn into a beautiful place. I am regularly running and MB to one here nearby my home.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

it is disgusting . Very refreshing to see neutral Britishers concerned about this .

We Brits have been sending our trash to other parts of Asia, China, Malaysia etc, but now they are turning it back so we will have to send it somewhere else. Looks like there is no room in Delhi, not sure if Pakistan is open to contract negotiations.

 

[shane]

Could someone confirm that that is actually a photograph of the trash mountain in the original post? I have never been to the Taj Mahal but I doubt it is taller than a mountain?

 

[Sirris]

They can cover it with proper mud and soil and turn it into a mountain; this is quite a common practice here. It is also possible then to plant trees and greenery on top of it and turn into a beautiful place. I am regularly running and MB to one here nearby my home.

When you say "here" are you referring to germany?

 

[saeedhk]

Pakistani Ppers mocking Indian.Very ironic!

Pakistan is also in the same boat. It also has a massive waste disposal problem.

 

[MP2011]

They can cover it with proper mud and soil and turn it into a mountain; this is quite a common practice here. It is also possible then to plant trees and greenery on top of it and turn into a beautiful place. I am regularly running and MB to one here nearby my home.

Yeah, the same thing happened at another border of Delhi, Delhi-Haryana bypass. Now it looks a beautiful green mountain. But that was under Sheila Dixit, now we've nincompoops ruling Delhi/India.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Please don't indulge in personal comments and stick to the topic.

If you are going to post rubbish you will be called out. Pin Code of Ghazipur is 110096. It indeed is in the capital of India which is New Delhi.

 

[cricketjoshila]

This is a mountainous problem. Pun intended.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Pakistani Ppers mocking Indian.Very ironic!

Pakistan is also in the same boat. It also has a massive waste disposal problem.

Pakistan must ask their own questions as to how they are dealing with environmental issues. It is an Islamic country, and surely a religious country which endeavours to honour the world which Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala has blessed us with, should take this matter very seriously.

This trash mountain doesn't just belong to India, when we see these pictures we should feel sadness whether we live in Delhi or Hong Kong.

 

[jewel1985]

That's absolutely embarrassing. How can the authorities over there sleep at night knowing something like this exists? I feel sorry for the poor people who has to live near that "mountain".

On a side note, how long before that man-made "mountain" surpasses Everest in height? Maybe they can exploit it for tourism as a previous poster suggested.

 

[ahmedzee]

With such increasing population comes the trash problem. Unfortunately, the world has this problem. We dont know where to throw this garbage. Recently the recycle program for Canada has been a failure too.
Now I like to see this problem solved and the world has some answers:

1) Recycle the plastics that can be recycled.
2) Use plastic eating microbes to break it down.
3) All the organic products should be steam reformed or use methanogens to produce electricity or Syn gas (Some pilot projects in China, Pakistan, Canada, US).
4) Anything that remains can be sent to landfill, or to space (very pricey), or burn it to produce electricity but ensure all the CO2 and other greenhouse gases are not dispersed to the atmosphere.

 

[dhump]

When you say "here" are you referring to germany?

Yes.

 

[Syed1]

They can cover it with proper mud and soil and turn it into a mountain; this is quite a common practice here. It is also possible then to plant trees and greenery on top of it and turn into a beautiful place. I am regularly running and MB to one here nearby my home.

Actually that is not the smartest thing to do since waste produces gases and some of them are toxic such as H2S. If it is uncovered the concentration of these gases is too minute to cause major health issues, but if you enclose it under soil the concentration of these gases build up and can seep through people's basements in adjacent areas.


https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/outdoors/air/landfill_gas.htm

 

[dhump]

Actually that is not the smartest thing to do since waste produces gases and some of them are toxic such as H2S. If it is uncovered the concentration of these gases is too minute to cause major health issues, but if you enclose it under soil the concentration of these gases build up and can seep through people's basements in adjacent areas.


https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/outdoors/air/landfill_gas.htm

I am not an expert on this topic honestly but if Germans do something you can trust that they check about these issues.

 

[sjahmed23]

This is a problem in all of South Asia, it is digusting that our people are so careless about hygene.

 

[Swashbuckler]

This is just one garbage mountain in a third world country. Plastic/garbage in oceans are forming a chain of mountains like Himalayas underwater, we are already at a point of no return. Thanos had the right idea in mind.

 

[Sirris]

I am not an expert on this topic honestly but if Germans do something you can trust that they check about these issues.

Is there an official German word for the whole procedure or some name to read up about it? Haven't heard about this concept before. Is it any kind of trash or only bio waste?

 

[rockyboy2018]

Recycling. They even separate their garbage. Germans know how to use their brains. After living in Germany for 2 years now everyone looks like a weirdo character from the Simpson cartoon series. I was in London it looked like a third world city. And, when I was visiting American consulate in Frankfurt. American visa officers/security guards looked so weirdos extremely loud and obese. I am learning every single day, really German cities, towns are squeaky clean. Also, I still have to find a single man or woman in Germany whom I can consider an average looking.

Environment is very important. I take classes till 6.30 pm evening from morning but still do niot sweat or feel tired. However, had it been Karachi after the first semester I woudl have dropped out from my uni.

It hurts me a lot emotionally when I see dogs enjoy a very standrad of living than average Pakistanis back home.

We eat crap , we live in polluted cities . How can we even say "Pakistan Zinadabad" on August 14 every time. What have we achieved to chant Pakistan Zindabad.

 

[barah_admi]

The situation in Chennai is no better, not such a huge mountain but many hills of garbage even inside the city. Solid waste management looks like an impossibility in India with shortage of space and such high population density.

High populations are a matter of perspective. If they built more towns or cities it would help and better, possibly larger places to dispose of/breakdown the waste. This requires infrastructure and correct government funding, something the Indian government has refused to do for decades now.

 

[dhump]

Is there an official German word for the whole procedure or some name to read up about it? Haven't heard about this concept before. Is it any kind of trash or only bio waste?

Search for "Giftmülldeponie".

or just serach for landfill parks

https://www.fromthegrapevine.com/nature/massive-tel-aviv-landfill-converted-2000-acre-park

 

[Major]

Pakistani Ppers mocking Indian.Very ironic!

Pakistan is also in the same boat. It also has a massive waste disposal problem.

in rawalpindi the garbage used to get dumped in a river. Now that river has dried up and its a filth river.

 

[Major]

With such increasing population comes the trash problem. Unfortunately, the world has this problem. We dont know where to throw this garbage. Recently the recycle program for Canada has been a failure too.
Now I like to see this problem solved and the world has some answers:

1) Recycle the plastics that can be recycled.
2) Use plastic eating microbes to break it down.
3) All the organic products should be steam reformed or use methanogens to produce electricity or Syn gas (Some pilot projects in China, Pakistan, Canada, US).
4) Anything that remains can be sent to landfill, or to space (very pricey), or burn it to produce electricity but ensure all the CO2 and other greenhouse gases are not dispersed to the atmosphere.

I am surprise that Canada is facing such problem

In the peel region, they have forced households to reduce their garbage.

2 bags per house, rest to go in recycling or compost. If segregated properly, one would barely have a single bag of garbage per week.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Recycling. They even separate their garbage. Germans know how to use their brains. After living in Germany for 2 years now everyone looks like a weirdo character from the Simpson cartoon series. I was in London it looked like a third world city. And, when I was visiting American consulate in Frankfurt. American visa officers/security guards looked so weirdos extremely loud and obese. I am learning every single day, really German cities, towns are squeaky clean. Also, I still have to find a single man or woman in Germany whom I can consider an average looking.

Environment is very important. I take classes till 6.30 pm evening from morning but still do niot sweat or feel tired. However, had it been Karachi after the first semester I woudl have dropped out from my uni.

It hurts me a lot emotionally when I see dogs enjoy a very standrad of living than average Pakistanis back home.

We eat crap , we live in polluted cities . How can we even say "Pakistan Zinadabad" on August 14 every time. What have we achieved to chant Pakistan Zindabad.

I must admit I am impressed with Germany. After the first world war their economy was on the floor and it was that plus the burden of reparations which led to the rise of Hitler I believe. Then their country was flattened in the second world war defeat to compound it. Yet look at them now, the richest and most well run country in Europe.

Compare that to the subcontinental superpowers which can only boast electric cables strung horribly across their mud baked streets and trash mountains in the background. It is just a lack of standards in my opinion.

 

[shane]

I am surprise that Canada is facing such problem

Some Western countries pay money to poorer countries to have their waste shipped and dumped in the latter. I think it was Canada which was recently told by the Phillipines that it was no longer prepared to have its waste dumped there. So Canada's problem has just got much worse unless they can find another poor country to unload it on.

 

[ahmedzee]

I am surprise that Canada is facing such problem

In the peel region, they have forced households to reduce their garbage.

2 bags per house, rest to go in recycling or compost. If segregated properly, one would barely have a single bag of garbage per week.

Most of the garbage collected in Canada is from the peel region, which has the same policy as the rest of Canada. Compost is good, it goes to landfill and to some areas where it can safely decompose. My suggestion is to use it for power generations (technology is there as explained before).
Your blue bin is purely recycle but not all plastics in blue bin could be recycled. That's where work is required.
Black bin on the otherhand is purely landfill item and has been a super failure, irrespective of if there are 2 bags per household or not. World needs a solution to these items going into the landfill, specially the items that can't be decomposed right away and have a half-life of more than 1000 years. We are not even talking nuclear waste that has a half-life of 10,000 years or more.

So yeah, world needs a solution to these landfill items and currently we don't have any.