Heartbreaking pictures show childhood being spent in garbage

According to a World Bank Report, by 2100 the waste production of the world is likely to increase to 11 million metric tons per day -three times of what we are producing currently. Urbanization and industrialization are picking pace and with it comes piles of garbage.

For countries under development, issue of waste management is a nightmare. For example, India is home to some of the filthiest cities in the world. There is no better option to deal with it except aggressive recycling and re-use. Similarly, Indonesia, Uganda, Gautemala, Pakistan, Philippines etc. are going through garbage crisis.

Also Read: Over 50 scary images depicting filth of Varanasi and River Ganges that went viral in China

Only human species create waste that doesn’t belong to nature. Our waste is covering oceans, rivers, air, soil, and forests. The piling heaps of garbage include e-waste, hazardous medical waste, and everything that we can throw away after use.

Also Read: Garbage crisis of India’s capital city Delhi in pictures

It not only causes environmental problems, but also poses health risk to rag –pickers, who are mostly children. Moreover, in poverty stricken nations like India, these garbage heaps have become playground.

Various photographers around the world have captured some of the saddest moments showing children playing amid stinking garbage dumps. These pictures depict heart-breaking reality of rising garbage production and eventual consequences of poor waste management.

In the garbage-infested Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad, India

In a polluted canal in Benguela, Angola

In the garbage-filled Manila Bay in the Philippines

In polluted river in Jakarta, Indonesia

In sludgy Yamuna River in New Delhi, India

In a polluted river in Jakarta, Indonesia

In an open drainage ditch in Manila, Philippines

Over a murky puddle in Kabul, Afghanistan

At the edge of an open sewer in Kampala, Uganda

At the Ghazipur landfill in New Delhi, India

In the sea of garbage produced by La Terminal food market in Guatemala City, Guatemala

Through the rubbish on the streets of Santa Fe, Argentina

In a garbage heap outside New Delhi, India

In the middle of the a garbage dump in Tondo, Philippines

Along the railway tracks for recyclable materials in Karachi, Pakistan

At a garbage dump in Tondo, Philippines

In a slum area of Karachi, Pakistan

In Manila, Philippines

In a junkyard outside of Yangon, Myanmar

Amid stacks of garbage in Kathmandu, Nepal

In a slum area of Karachi, Pakistan

At a tannery in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Rowing in a river of garbage in Jakarta, Indonesia

At a garbage dump in Mumbai, India

At the Bishnumati River in Kathmandu, Nepal

Through a garbage dump outside Islamabad, Pakistan