One after another, they haul more than 12 tonnes of rubbish daily to the small Chilean community of Til Til, 35 miles (56 km) northwest of Santiago, the equivalent of at least two-thirds of the capital's municipal waste.
. Santiago, Chile. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado
A train, which is used to transport garbage, rides on its way to Santiago to be reloaded.
This town of 17,000 is the last stop for much of the trash produced by a city of 7 million.
And now there will be more.
The Minister's Committee, a gathering of high-ranking Chilean political officials who decide the fate of controversial projects, last year approved the construction of a sprawling new industrial waste processing facility here.
. Santiago, Chile. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado
Already, Til Til, a desert-dry community of yellow hills fringed with cactus fruit farms, has more than 30 industrial projects. Among them: several mining waste sites, a pig farm, a cement plant and Lomas Los Colorados, one of Santiago's largest waste dumps.
With this newly approved facility, operated by Ciclo, a local waste management company, Til Til will become the last stop for more than half the industrial waste produced from northern Chilean mining region of Atacama to Bio Bio province in the south, according to a report from Chile's Congress.
. Santiago, Chile. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado
Workers and riot policemen remove a rail that was used to block the route of a train that transports garbage.
The community has protested, blocking the train tracks that funnel trash north, and Route 5, known locally as the Panamerican Highway and a major trucking thoroughfare that transits the city.
"Why Til Til again? Why must Til Til solve the environmental problems of 8 million inhabitants?," said Til Til Mayor Nelson Orellana on a radio program following the project's approval.
. Santiago, Chile. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado
The national committee that approved the project says safeguards have put in place to minimise contamination or impact on townspeople.
Ciclo said that the site is the only one within the greater Santiago region that is "apt and possible" for an industrial waste site of this magnitude.
"There is no health risk for the population," Ciclo says on its website.
The company hopes to see the project begin operation in 2019, according to its promotional materials.
. Santiago, Chile. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado
A mechanic digger works on a waste dump.
Meanwhile, Santiago's trash problem is only getting worse.
A 2015 fire at another large landfill in Santa Marta - much nearer the city center than Til Til - put citizens here on edge, shrouding Santiago's skyscrapers and crowded streets in toxic dust.
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Slideshow
. Santiago, Chile. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado
A shadow is cast on a wall painted with a skull at a bus stop. "Til Til is not a ghost town, it's not just a landfill for Santiago," a local said.
. Santiago, Chile. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado
Demonstrators block train tracks which is used to transport garbage. "We have four tailings, two landfills, pollution in the river and power line towers. People do not care," a demonstrator said.
. Santiago, Chile. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado
A child looks out from a house as he is illuminated by a burning barricade blocking train tracks during a protest.
. Santiago, Chile. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado
Riot policemen guard train tracks to prevent barricades from locals protesting against the new industrial waste processing facility.
. Santiago, Chile. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado
A train transporting garbage rides to a waste dump passing next to an abandoned power plant.
. Santiago, Chile. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado
Cristian, a breeder of farm birds, holds up a dead falcon which he shot. He said the raptors are attacking his farm birds due to the lack of food in the area.
. Santiago, Chile. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado
A carcass of an animal lies on the ground next to a cement plant.
. Santiago, Chile. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado
A man drags a pram loaded with stuff that he sells on a street, close to train tracks.
. Santiago, Chile. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado
A man rides a horse.
. Santiago, Chile. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado
"One more dump for Til Til town would be polluting all our water and the animals that drink that water," caretaker of far animals, Alex Rojas, said.
. Santiago, Chile. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado
A mountain which is close to both - an existing waste dump and the new industrial waste processing facility that is being constructed, is seen in Til Til.
. Santiago, Chile. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado
A farmer uses rubber gloves to pick up prickly pears.
. Santiago, Chile. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado
"A landfill will change our self-esteem. It will make us feel dirty," said farmer and psychologist Gonzalo Herrera.
. Santiago, Chile. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado
A train, which is used to transport garbage, passes next to a local cemetery on its way to Santiago to be reloaded.
. Santiago, Chile. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado
Riot policemen gather at a street corner during a demonstration.
. Santiago, Chile. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado
Demonstrators run away from tear gas. "Media calls us 'the garbage dump of metropolitan region' and that stigmatises us," a protester said.
. Santiago, Chile. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado
Riot policemen remove barricades from train tracks after a demonstration.
. Santiago, Chile. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado
Locals shout slogans as they attempt to block a mountain road during a demonstration. "The landfill contaminates the future for my nephew because it is toxic waste," a protester said.
. Santiago, Chile. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado
Police inspect the area where a train transporting garbage was derailed. Local media reported that the train was allegedly derailed by demonstrators protesting against a new industrial waste processing facility that is being constructed.
Story
Only 10 percent of the country's trash is recycled, according to Environment Ministry statistics - putting the country near the bottom of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD) nations.
. Santiago, Chile. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado
Disused train tracks which was used by a cement plant in rural area close to Til Til.
