Waste Management

India’s single-use plastic (SUP) phaseout plan comes into effect in July 2022 banning plastic use in a variety of applications under the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules 2021. This is not the first-time, however, that single use plastics have been banned in India. Following Prime Minister Modi’s pledge in 2018 to eliminate SUPs, a slew of states and Union Territory (UT) governments passed orders and notifications to ban a variety of use-and-throw plastics. Today, most Indian states and UTs have some form of a ban on plastics; all of them have a ban on plastic carry bags. Plastic carry bags…

Kumaran S has been collecting waste from spots in Zone 9 of the Greater Chennai Corporation for over a decade now. But like most other informal waste pickers in Chennai, he has seen a sharp fall in his earnings from waste,  as a large portion of what they collected and sold are now handled by conservancy workers with the Greater Chennai Corporation or the private contractor in charge in most zones, Urbaser Sumeet. “I have been engaged in this work for over a decade. Things have never been as bad for us as it is now. During COVID-19 lockdown I…

Solid waste management remains the second highest priority for BBMP. Though allocation on this in the 2022-23 budget has dropped to Rs 1469 crore from last year’s allocation of Rs 1622 crore. Changing Priorities - more landfills Much of this money, however, is going towards managing landfills as shown in the chart below. Given the recent developments around the proposed changes to the collection and transportation system of one vehicle collecting all waste streams, the budget reflects the priorities and directions of BBMP moving towards more landfills and dumping by earmarking Rs 300+ crore for this. BBMP SWM budget allocation…

The end of life of textiles is creating a huge cost that no one is bearing right now. Only strict EPR in which textile industries take back or pay for storage or own the end of life costs will this very problematic textile waste be treated in a more sustainable manner. This is the second of a two part series on the mounting textile waste that Bangalore generates and the various issues in disposing-recycling-reusing them. The first part can be read here. The current destinations for textile waste, post sorting at DWCCs are Clothes in wearable conditions are first used by…

The end of life of textiles is creating a huge cost that no one is bearing right now. Only forcing textile industries take back or pay for storage or own the end of life costs will this very problematic textile waste be treated in a more sustainable manner. This is the first of a two part series on the mounting textile waste that Bangalore generates and the various issues in disposing-recycling-reusing them. “There is something about online shopping from home, from the array of choices, not to mention the cheap prices,” says Sheeja, a senior HR Manager who recently relocated to…

There is something about a hill vacation, travelling across narrow winding roads upwards, landscape dotted with lush green terrain, tantalising water streams,  foggy foothills, chirping birds, the buzzing sounds of insects and clean air. But now, contrast this with unsightly scenes of rubbish by the roadside — styrofoam, plastic wrappers, bags  and bottles, and more. The garbage keeps growing, competing with the hills, and becomes a monstrous man-made mountain in the midst of a landfill, laden with grotesque man-made objects that speak volumes about our use-and-throw culture and our complete lack of consideration for the environment. Coorg, nestled in the…

Translated by Sandhya Raju 2016-ம் ஆண்டு வரையப்பட்ட திடக்கழிவு மேலாண்மை விதிமுறைகளின் ஒரு அம்சமாக சென்னையை குப்பைத்தொட்டி இல்லா நகரமாக மாற்ற சென்னை மாநகராட்சி முற்பட்டது. இந்த திட்ட யோசனை அதிகாரிகள் மற்றும் சென்னைவாசிகளின் மனதில் கற்பனை வடிவம் பெற்றது. ஆனால், தொட்டிகளை அகற்றுவதில் ஏற்பட்ட நடைமுறை சிக்கலால், மாநகராட்சி இந்த திட்டத்தை அமலாக்க நேரம் எடுத்துக் கொண்டது. விழிப்புணர்வு நிகழ்ச்சிகள் மற்றும் சங்கச் செயல்பாடுகள் காரணமாக சில சுற்றுப்புறங்களில் குப்பைத் தொட்டியை குறைக்க முடிந்தது. குப்பைத் தொட்டி இல்லாதது சில சுற்றுப்புற பகுதிவாசிகளுக்கு சிரமத்தை ஏற்படுத்தியது. குப்பைத்தொட்டி இல்லா நகரமாக சென்னையை மாற்ற என்ன தேவை, கடந்த ஆண்டுகளில் இந்த திட்டத்திற்கு என்ன ஆனது. நகரத்தின் கழிவுப் பயணம் சீராக இல்லை சென்னையில் நாளொன்றுக்கு சுமார் 5400 MT (மாநகராட்சி தரவு படி)கழிவு உற்பத்தியாகிறது. இதில் கோடம்பாக்கம், தேனாம்பேட்டை, ராயபுரம், அண்ணாநகர் ஆகிய பகுதிகளிலிருந்து 50% மேல் கழிவு…

With a growing population of over 12 million, Mumbai generates 2,700 - 3,000 million litres of sewage everyday. But just as water needs to be purified before it is fit for drinking, sewage needs treatment before it re-enters the water cycle. Untreated sewage is a dangerous mix of bacteria and organic matter, making it an excellent breeding ground for diseases like diarrhoea, cholera, gastroenteritis, hepatitis B, etc. Once in water, it also wreaks havoc in the environment of marine organisms, stealing from their oxygen stores, suffocating and eventually feeding on them. At present, sewage treatment in the city is divided…

Have you ever looked closely at the plastic packaging waste that you place in your recycling bin? Whether the bags, containers, bottles, wrappers, toys, packaging materials are branded or unbranded? What are the brand names? How are they classified? Do you know what the numbers on the packaging mean? Do all plastic waste actually get recycled? According to Sowmya Raghavan, Member, Solid Waste Management Focus Group, Bangalore Apartment Federation (BAF), “All recyclables are not recycled, and all items in the recycle bin are not recyclable." So have you ever thought about conducting an audit of your plastic waste? If yes,…

The idea of 'bin-less streets' has long captured the imagination of residents and authorities. The Greater Chennai Corporation had planned to make Chennai 'bin-less' as part of the Solid Waste Management Rules(SWM) framed in 2016. The GCC had decided to slow down this process, however, as a number of complications arose in removing the bins. Few neighbourhoods in the city have managed to go bin-less on account of rigorous awareness programmes and associational activity. Some attempts at going 'bin-less' have however inconvenienced residents in the area. While these cases could be chalked up to a matter of shoddy implementation, we…