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Cows grazing on a field of plastic bags at the Pushkar municipal dumping ground (landfill), Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. Landfills like this are so free of metal glass (since it's all been picket out to be recycled) that you can walk barefoot.
Durga idols are recovered from the Hooghly River after being immersed during the Durga Puja idols, Babughat, Kolkata, India. The idols are recovered to avoid polluting the river. They're made from straw and river clay, but the paints are not eco-friendly.
A trash worker burns copper wires to get the plastic casings off so the copper can be recycled, Taltala, Kolkata, India
A case of glass Pepsi and 7-UP bottles, Babughat, Kolkata, India. Such bottles are washed and re-used.
Durga idols are recovered from the Hooghly River after being immersed during the Durga Puja idols, Babughat, Kolkata, India. The idols are recovered to avoid polluting the river. They're made from straw and river clay, but the paints are not eco-friendly.
Durga idols are recovered from the Hooghly River after being immersed during the Durga Puja idols, Babughat, Kolkata, India. The idols are recovered to avoid polluting the river. They're made from straw and river clay, but the paints are not eco-friendly.
Cows grazing on a field of plastic bags at the Pushkar municipal dumping ground (landfill), Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. Landfills like this are so free of metal glass (since it's all been picket out to be recycled) that you can walk barefoot.
Durga idols are recovered from the Hooghly River after being immersed during the Durga Puja idols, Babughat, Kolkata, India. The idols are recovered to avoid polluting the river. They're made from straw and river clay, but the paints are not eco-friendly.
Families working in rubber shoe recycling, Dhapa, Kolkata, India. Dhapa is a large industrial zone that processes most of Kolkata's garbage and recycling.
Cows grazing on a field of plastic bags at the Pushkar municipal dumping ground (landfill), Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. Landfills like this are so free of metal glass (since it's all been picket out to be recycled) that you can walk barefoot.
Durga idols are recovered from the Hooghly River after being immersed during the Durga Puja idols, Babughat, Kolkata, India. The idols are recovered to avoid polluting the river. They're made from straw and river clay, but the paints are not eco-friendly.
Father and son at a rubber shoe recycling operation, Dhapa, Kolkata, India. Dhapa is a large industrial zone that processes most of Kolkata's garbage and recycling.
Durga idols are recovered from the Hooghly River after being immersed during the Durga Puja idols, Babughat, Kolkata, India. The idols are recovered to avoid polluting the river. They're made from straw and river clay, but the paints are not eco-friendly.
Durga idols are recovered from the Hooghly River after being immersed during the Durga Puja idols, Babughat, Kolkata, India. The idols are recovered to avoid polluting the river. They're made from straw and river clay, but the paints are not eco-friendly.
Primitive furnaces in the East Kolkata Wetlands near Bantala burn scrap leather from handbag factories, Kolkata, India. The furnaces belch out thick smoke day in and day out, contributing to Kolkata's poor air quality.
Girl at a recycling operation near Dhapa, Kolkata, India. Dhapa is the site of the main landfill for Kolkata.
Foamy, dirty water in an unnamed creek near Bantala and Dhapa, Kolkata, India. The area is home to the main landfill for Kolkata, and a large number of small recycling operations, as well as leather incinerators. Pollution in the area is extreme.
Workers carry baskets of leather scraps to be incinerated near the town of Bantala, East Kolkata Wetlands, Kolkata, India. There are more than a dozen furnaces putting out large volumes of toxic smoke all day, and workers wear no protection.
Workers melt down and stir asphalt to be recycled, near the Dhapa landfill, East Kolkata Wetlands, Kolkata, India.
Burning piles of scrap metal near Dhapa, Kolkata, India. Dhapa is the site of Kolkata's largest landfill, and numerous recycling and incineration operations.