Garbage piles high in the streets as municipal workers blockade the landfill sites.

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"When you walk in, you are overcome by the smell of decay, and by awe at the sight of these staggeringly high piles of paper, " said Kate Doyle, of the National Security Archive, an American campaign group that specialises in tracing documents.

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They are leaving piles of wood chips so high that some towns don't know how to get rid of them.

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Occasionally, deep piles of trash were piled high in mountain switchbacks.

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Ten storeys high, these wind-swept piles rise from the sea and abut steep, rocky cliffs.

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"Investors are sitting on cash piles of just below a 17-month high" that could "easily be put to work" if they think the environment is improving, he said.

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All too often Everest hits the news for the wrong reasons - climbers left to die high on the mountain, or piles of rubbish littering the slopes - but for Luanne such rescues show the spirit of Base Camp.

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Birds and certain smaller mammals such as rabbits and raccoons will usually go high to live in trees or on drift piles, but larger mammals have to clear out, according to Ribbeck.

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