Waste pickers in Delhi’s Ghazipur landfill brave extreme heat and toxic fumes as towering garbage mountains loom over nearby homes. Photo courtesy: Los Angeles News
(The Post News) – Sofia Begum, 38, wipes her watering eyes as she explains why she no longer works in Delhi’s Ghazipur landfill during summer. “The heat makes my right eye swell, so I stopped last year,” she says. Begum married at 13 and spent over 25 years with her husband sorting through piles of waste to find recyclables to sell.
Wearing a worn green-and-yellow kurta, she sits in a narrow lane of her slum near the landfill. She recalls coming into contact with medical waste in 2022, which infected her eye. Long exposure to the sun now makes the swelling worse, forcing her to skip the hottest months. Even in winter, she works less than before. “I used to carry 40 to 50 kilos of waste a day. Now I can only manage half,” she says.
This June, Delhi temperatures soared to 49°C (120°F), prompting the India Meteorological Department to issue an “orange alert.” The city’s three massive landfill sites — Ghazipur, Bhalswa, and Okhla — overflowed with waste, releasing toxic gases, methane leaks, and foul odors. For the tens of thousands living nearby, it’s a constant public health threat.
Waste pickers, who collect and sell plastic, paper, and metal, earn unstable incomes while working in dangerous conditions. In summer, the risks grow. According to Nature, landfill mounds taller than 50 meters can reach 60–70°C due to decomposing organic matter, which also emits harmful gases. “These landfills are gas chambers in the making,” warns public health researcher Anant Bhan, citing respiratory and skin problems from exposure.
Ghazipur now stands 65 meters tall — like a 20-story building — and has become a symbol of Delhi’s climate crisis. Begum says surgery for her eye would cost 30,000 rupees (\$350), money she doesn’t have. She avoids government hospitals due to long waits, preferring nearby Mohalla Clinics for faster treatment.
For others like Tanzila, 32, the heat forces a shift to night work. She fainted from dehydration last year and now collects waste after sunset to avoid the scorching daytime heat. “During the day, it feels like being baked alive,” she says.
Sheikh Akbar Ali, who campaigns for waste pickers’ rights, warns that night work also has dangers, from heavy machinery to invisible gas leaks.
Despite government promises to clear the garbage mountains by 2028, methane leaks and poor air quality persist. Since 2020, satellites have detected over 120 significant methane emissions in Delhi, including a massive one from Ghazipur in 2021.
Many waste pickers say they have no choice but to keep working. “Garbage is gold to us,” says Tanzila. Yet their work remains unrecognized, without legal protections, fair pay, or health insurance. Safety gear is minimal, often limited to cheap masks that quickly become soaked with sweat.
Delhi’s civic authorities are pushing for new waste-to-energy incinerators, but environmentalists warn these will release toxic pollutants and cut off livelihoods for waste pickers. Activists call instead for decentralized waste systems, local composting, and formal recognition of waste pickers’ roles.
Back in Ghazipur, fires burn on the landfill’s slopes, and the stench hangs over nearby homes. “Nothing changes. The garbage grows, and we keep working,” says Shah Alam, Tanzila’s husband. “In summer, more people fall sick and we lose workdays — but we have no other option.”
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