Visitors to Mumbai are often surprised by the city’s lax attitude towards household waste segregation. Despite being aware of the importance of segregating garbage at its source, many residents fail to practise it because of various reasons. Meanwhile, Mumbai’s dumping grounds are overflowing, and the situation worsens every year. Proposed solutions like waste remediation and waste-to-energy plants come with their challenges.creative

Achieving real, on-ground change depends significantly on behavioural shifts. Moreover, experts have repeatedly pointed out that source segregation and decentralised processing are crucial to addressing waste issues.

Can targeted interventions help?

One major issue of legacy waste in the dumping grounds is the generation of methane, a greenhouse gas that can be eighty times more potent than carbon dioxide in warming the atmosphere, contributing hugely to climate change. Purpose, an agency using creative communication to affect social change, is keen on reducing methane gas emissions in dump yards. Keeping in mind that 70% of waste generated annually is food waste, Purpose will initiate a pilot programme in Mumbai households focusing on waste segregation.

The pilot will be launched from Mumbai’s K-East ward, which includes Vile Parle, Andheri and Jogeshwari. The programme will leverage existing research by Purpose, reports from organisations like Praja, and articles on solid waste management by Citizen Matters to encourage segregation efforts in the ward. A few programmes, already running in the ward will give the initiative a head start. The presence of waste-related start-ups and NGOs working in the area also made K-East a good choice for the programme, according to the organisation.

Sustained efforts needed for change

Swati Deo, a member of the Swachh Parle Abhiyan citizens’ movement formed by volunteers in 2015, believes that such programmes are important in the current waste management ecosystem. “They can engage individuals genuinely interested in waste segregation and encourage more people to participate. If just one person is aware of waste segregation and composting, these programmes, through gamification of the sessions, can make three more people aware, ensuring compliance and awareness,” she says.

Swachh Parle Abhiyan also started with awareness programmes about waste segregation, composting and urban farming. Swati points out that initially, they got a good response to their workshops. “However, unless there is a strong team of residents to continue the work, segregation efforts lose steam over time.”

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The project starts in January and will be implemented by resource persons from Purpose in collaboration with various partners. Namrata Kilpady, Campaign Director at Purpose, says they are choosing partners based on their ability to provide support to mobilise audiences, create content and network. “The programme will have both offline and online components, featuring workshops, exposure visits to societies that already practise segregation and a fun approach to the sticky topic of waste.”

Empowering people to make an impact

The programme will run in residential societies with 50–100 flats comprising middle to high-income residents. Purpose’s research has revealed that these groups generate more waste than low-income groups.

For such initiatives to make an impact, it is necessary to empower the building committee and conduct regular follow-ups to address people’s queries. The programme will apply different methods to influence behavioural change. How effective these prove to be will be measured at the end of six months through an end-line survey

“While behaviour change is an important aspect, many other factors determine the success of such an initiative. There are multiple stakeholders just beyond the waste generator,” believes Kedar Sohoni, Founder of Green Communities Foundation. He points out that there are only so many things that individuals can do and infrastructural support is necessary to ensure waste travels down the right path, causing minimal environmental damage. “Addressing the multiple stakeholders involved in the waste management ecosystem is important,” he adds.

Waste is often seen as disgusting or without value. However, people must acknowledge their role in generating waste and its impact on their health, families, and the city. Then, they may be more inclined to adopt healthier waste management practices. This can be achieved through a collaborative approach.

Also read:

• How and what to communicate for successful bans on single use plastics
• What the rest of Mumbai can learn from Parel’s waste management model