on streets sometimes spread waste from trash bags, sullying the sidewalk and creating more work for city street sweepers. Public nuisance: Many people view waste pickers as a nuisance or source of shame for their communities. Waste pickers' perceived poverty and lack of sanitation makes some people uncomfortable or fearful. In developing countries especially, many argue that modern services should replace waste pickers. Pilfering of public property: In some cities, waste pickers have been known to steal, melt down, and resell public property such as telephone and electrical copper wire, steel fencing, or manhole covers. Occupational hazards Health risks There is a high prevalence of disease among waste pickers due to their exposure to hazardous materials such as fecal matter, paper saturated by toxic materials, bottles and containers with chemical residues, contaminated needles, and heavy metals from batteries. A study in Mexico City found the average lifespan of a dumpsite waste collector to be 39 years, compared to the national average of 69 years, though a later World Bank study estimated life span to be 53 years. In Port Said, Egypt, a 1981 study showed an infant mortality rate of 1/3 among waste pickers (one out of three babies dies before reaching age one). Risks of injury Among the most common types of job-related injuries for waste pickers are back and hand injuries caused by lifting heavy objects with little equipment. In a study of 48 waste pickers in Santo André, Brazil, almost all workers reported pain in the back, legs, shoulder, arms, and hands. Waste pickers who work in open dumps are exposed to large amounts of toxic fumes, and face other severe threats including being run over by trucks and caught in surface subsidence, trash slides, and fires. On 10 July 2000, several hundred waste pickers were killed by a trash slide from a huge garbage mountain after monsoon rains at an open dump in Payatas, Philippines. Stigma, harassment, and violence Most waste picking activity is illegal or unpermitted, so waste pickers commonly face harassment by police and authorities. Also, there is widespread public scorn against waste pickers due to their poverty and perceived lack of hygiene. Women are subject to greater harassment, particularly sexual harassment due to their low social status and lack of social support. One of the most extreme manifestations of such stigma occurs in Colombia, where, since the 1980s, "social cleansing" vigilante groups, sometimes