Waste Management

Garbage generated in Bengaluru’s markets big and small can be a star, according to  VEDAN, an NGO working on creating awareness among people on waste management issues. Named G-Star, the suggested model, which came out of Vedan’s study of K R Puram market, brings together people who produce waste and those who can make productive use of it. The G-star model can reduce the mixed waste that goes to landfills. This waste can be distributed to all stakeholders in a desired form by collecting it directly from vendors at the market as and when it is produced. The K R…

Ever wondered what happens to the onion peels or pieces of plastic that you throw casually in the dustbin? Every bit of waste that we generate has a long journey, that often goes unnoticed. It goes through a lot of procedures and undergoes various transitions. Understanding the journey of waste helps citizens contribute more to the cause of waste management.  Chennai generates 5600 tonnes of waste every day. Let's take a look at the various measures being implemented by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) on Solid Waste Management (SWM) to present the story of trash.  The SWM bye-law mandates source…

We are slaves of habit. We find comfort in predictability because that gives us a sense of assurance. A schedule that goes like clockwork is actually very comforting. That’s the beauty and the bane of it. Before mid-March 2020, my husband and I kept to a schedule that we'd been following for the last 18 years. And then, Covid arrived in all our lives! With lockdown and 100% work-from-home, the schedule was suddenly gone. Our lives got filled with a long unending list of chores, to be done along with our office work. Things that our maid and cook efficiently…

The inauguration of Chennai's first incinerator in February by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) at Manali has paved the way for many more in and around the city. The civic body has, in quick succession to Manali, floated tenders to set up six more incinerators at Pallikaranai, Mylapore, Ambattur, Sathankadu, Kodungaiyur and Aynavaram zones.  In the suburbs, the Tambaram Municipality has floated tenders for two incinerators at Venkatamangalam, while Chitlapakkam Town Panchayat has floated for one in that area. The rationale behind setting up incinerators First things first; what is an incinerator and why is it used? To put simply,…

A new waste management concessionaire has taken over our zone starting October 1 2020. We have been engaged in efforts to improve the waste management in our area through segregation and composting under the banner of RK Nagarra (RK Nagar Residents’ Association), which is replicating the the methods followed by TAKSRA (Thiruveedhi Amman Koil Street Residents Association) The effort covered individual houses and apartment blocks, with residents segregating their waste at source. The system functioned smoothly and was recognised as a pioneering effort by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board which conferred a Green Award for TAKSRA. TAKSRA received the…

In today’s fast-moving world, convenience is leading to consumerism. The convenience of getting things delivered to our doorstep and the abundance of choice has turned us into impulsive buyers. What we fail to realize is that every order placed, every return initiated, every dish cooked, every fruit eaten is generating some waste. In cities, due to higher population density and higher spending power, the quantum of waste generation is also high. Therefore, decentralization of waste management is something which makes the entire exercise easier and more sustainable for cities.  But what is decentralised waste management? It refers to a system…

October 2. Gandhi Jayanti. Swachh Bharat Day. It was three years ago on this day that  the Greater Chennai Corporation mandated that all residents must segregate their waste at source, and only segregated waste would be collected by the workers of either GCC or Ramky, depending on which zone one lived in (I live in Zone 13- Adyar, one of the largest zones in the city.) The ensuing three years have been a journey of mixed experiences.. In many areas, citizen groups and resident welfare associations (RWAs), took upon themselves the task of ensuring source segregation of waste in their…

In my lifetime, I’ve transitioned from an Indian-type squat-pour-flush toilet to a more spacious western-style commode toilet with the luxuries of a mirror and wash-basin.  This transition is one of the more eloquent symbols of my upward mobility.  It was in the privacy of the toilet that I have felt the most free and uninhibited.  It is the place where my deepest angsts have found their release in helpless tears and the place where I’ve imagined my wild aspirations coming true. It is where I’ve thought of the comeback line to the school bully and where I’ve pretended to be…

Launched in 2015, Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), has come a long way. The programme made sure that cleanliness and sanitation found a place in India’s governance landscape. The programme was aimed at transforming the behaviour of the masses on issues of sustainable waste management.  To further strengthen and evaluate the performance of the mission, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India (GoI) kick started India’s first and largest cleanliness survey, Swachh Survekshan in 2016. Since, then the survey has evolved significantly, engaging citizens, administrative systems and civil society towards creating a robust waste management system. Swachh…

When 2020 started, we wouldn’t have imagined that schools would shut down, playing outdoors would be unsafe, regular income will be affected, and that staying at home would become the only way to stay safe.  Personally, I  haven’t been able to venture out for plogging -- something that I have enjoyed doing for close to three years now. Running-plus-picking-waste has been an effective way of keeping the environment clean and creating awareness. COVID made me and my team, The Indian Ploggers Army, realise that even if we’re not able to plog, there are other things we can do. The gaps…