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Environment

Jakarta's poor fear landslides from overflowing waste mountains

City authorities running out of options for disposing massive volumes of trash

A group of scavengers search for items and plastics to sell for recycling at Bantar Gebang landfill in Bekasi, West Java province, Indonesia, in this March 2019 photo.   © Reuters

JAKARTA -- The stench is overpowering, and it only gets worse as you approach the biggest landfill site in Southeast Asia.

The green grass on the embankments of the road leading into the Bantar Gebang landfill on the outskirts of Jakarta quickly gives way to trash -- stacked in piles as far as the eye can see, reaching the height of a 15-story building in places.

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