PHOTOS: A Family's Life Rag-Picking In New Delhi: 'I Do Not Want My Children To Die In This Trash'

In this Nov. 11, 2014 photo, Murshida, 12, helps her mother Marjina lift a sackful of trash for segregation outside their rented shanty on the outskirts of New Delhi, India. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Six months ago, Marjina stepped off a train in New Delhi with her two children, hoping to find a better life after her husband abandoned them without so much as a goodbye.

She thought leaving her home in West Bengal to find work in the Indian capital would give her children a chance at a better life. But the only job she could find was as a "rag picker" — picking through other people's garbage to find salvageable bits to resell or recycle.

It is filthy, dangerous work, performed by millions of people across India. Rag picking is effectively the primary recycling system in India. But the work is by no means environmentally friendly, and very far from being secure. While the rag pickers offer invaluable services to the city, they have few rights. Every day, they are exposed to deadly poisons.

In this Nov. 11, 2014 photo, Marjina, right, segregates trash with the help of her children and a young neighbor outside their rented shanty on the outskirts of New Delhi, India. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Marjina, who goes by only one name, and her children — daughter Murshida, 12, and 7-year-old son Shahid-ul — spent their days at a landfill in Gazipur, on the outskirts of New Delhi. The next morning they would sit outside their single-room shanty and sort the trash into metal, plastic and paper. The children counted themselves lucky if they found a discarded toy or plastic jewelry to play with. The family earned just US$26 per month. Rent was US$9.

The work took a toll on the family's health. Marjina's children were constantly sick. Her daughter contracted dengue fever and had to be hospitalized.

In this Oct. 17, 2014 photo, young waste pickers look for recyclable items at a landfill on the outskirts of New Delhi, India. Rag picking is effectively the primary recycling system in India. While the rag pickers offer invaluable services to the city, they have few rights and are exposed to deadly poisons everyday. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)