audio, stills, text and or video: Go to http://www.zReportage.com to see more - Just a few miles from Delhi's famous Akshardham temple, where tourists flock to see the structure's sandstone and marble work, the 29-hectare, slum-surrounded Ghazipur landfill in east Delhi seems a world apart. Each day hundreds of mainly migrant workers earn a meager living at the landfill by collecting recyclable material like plastic, metal and even hair to sell. The dump is the last port of call for Delhi's trash, having already been picked through by other waste collectors who collect bags of garbage directly from homes. Delhi is home to three landfills where around 6,000 tons of trash is dumped daily. Studies have shown that living near a landfill increases the risk of cancer, birth defects and asthma.
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April 16, 2012 - New Delhi, India - A rag picker, which is someone who makes a living by rummaging through trash, carries a bag of recyclables at New Delhi's 70-acre Ghazipur landfill.
© Chinky Shukla/zReportage/ZUMA

April 16, 2012 - New Delhi, India - Rag pickers carry heaps of waste in a dust storm at the Ghazipur landfill.
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April 20, 2012 - New Delhi, India - BHAGMATI KUMARI has been working at the landfill ever since she lost her husband 14 years ago. She earns 50-70 rupees, which is approximately one dollar, for sifting and sorting garbage for nine hours a day.
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April 16, 2012 - New Delhi, India - Ghazipur landfill has more than 46 lakh metric tons of garbage. Around 2,200 metric tons of waste is dumped here daily without any prior segregation.
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April 20, 2012 - New Delhi, New Delhi, India - Extreme weather conditions, toxic substances, foul stench, stray animals, disease, flies, and discrimination are just a few of the hardships for the rag pickers who live and work on dumpsites.
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April 16, 2012 - New Delhi, India - Amidst a thick blanket of smoke, a rag picker sifts through a pile of rubbish to pick out pieces of glass, metal and plastic at the Ghazipur landfill.
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April 16, 2012 - New Delhi, India - Young rag pickers chase the garbage truck to collect recyclables at the Ghazipur landfill.
© Chinky Shukla/zReportage/ZUMA

April 16, 2012 - New Delhi, India - QASIM ALI, a native of West Bengal, has been working at Ghazipur landfill for the past twelve years. He came to the capital with the hopes of finding a job. Unable to find employment, and perhaps unable to speak the local language, he eventually turned to ragpicking, gathering trash at the dump to sell as recyclables.
© Chinky Shukla/zReportage/ZUMA