Okhla landfill, Delhi, India, January 2016, photo Rémi de Bercegol
To reduce the garbage buried in landfills, the city of Delhi has chosen to incinerate its municipal waste. After combustion, the remaining incinerator bottom ash still represents a quarter of the initial volume. Theoretically it should be recycled as cTo reduce the garbage buried in landfills, the city of Delhi has chosen to incinerate its municipal waste. After combustion, the remaining incinerator bottom ash still represents a quarter of the initial volume. Theoretically it should be recycled as construction bricks, but in reality this toxic residue ends up on the landfill, where recyclers continue their work. Using nothing but large magnets, they beat the black ash to extract the ferrous metal, the final recyclable material they can sell to scrap merchants.
Rémi de Bercegol