WIPRO PROJECT-(earthian)

Activity-3
Where does the waste go and why is it a problem

Objective-
What happens to our waste after the bins are emptied?
To understand that every product that we use requires
materials and other natural resources
To think about alternative waste management practices
that are better for us and better for the planet.
Understanding current waste management practices in our
schools and colleges and communities

PART 1 : WHERE DOES MY WASTE GO?

What happens to the waste we dispose of in school?
Well, most waste goes on quite a journey after it's thrown into the nearest bin.
● After the waste has been dumped into the
garbage bins it is collected and depending
on which sector of our Indian society you
live in the trash is taken separate ways.
 ● If you live in a more developed and
educated sector of society, are going to
private schools or colleges or even well
maintained government schools, the
garbage collected from those schools and
colleges would be taken for recycling or
composting depending upon the
segregation and the school board would
ensure that this is taken care of and being
followed.
● If you live in an underdeveloped part of
Indian society, areas like slums or villages
where the people are not educated and do
not have the greatest sense of responsibility
for hygiene, the schools or colleges in those
areas may not be this conscious of where
the waste is thrown, in most cases the waste
collected is thrown into landfills (sites
designated for dumping rubbish, garbage,
or other sorts of solid wastes.), but it may
also be that sometimes people don’t even
bother to take the waste to the landfill and
it gets dumped somewhere in the street or
road side.

Where does it go?

As stated above depending on the situation the waste will either go to a
recycling station or will get dumped in landfills and in some cases even on road
sides.
 How is it removed and who removes it?
● I feel that this condition would also depend on the situation…
● If the waste is being collected from the more developed and educated part of
society...then it would be ensured that the waste is segregated into
biodegradable (any product that can be easily broken down naturally by water,
oxygen, the sun's rays, radiation, or microorganisms), non-biodegradable (a
substance that cannot be decomposed or dissolved naturally and acts as a source
of pollution) and toxic (chemical waste materials capable of causing death or
injury to life.)
● Whereas if the same was to be carried out in the opposite part of society then it
would really be questionable if the waste collected from the schools is segregated
or not.
● As for who collects this waste that would be unanimous wherever the waste is
being collected from schools and colleges by garbage collectors working under
“the union ministry of environment, forests and climate change”.

Find out similar aspects from our homes about where the waste is deposited?
● Again this would depend on which section of society we are talking
about...the more educated and aware households would try their level
best to follow the 3 Rs and they would make sure that the waste does not
end up in a landfill.
● As for the unaware sections of society
that might find it hard to understand
how where we deposit our waste can
have a severe environment and may not
be cautious of where they deposit their
waste and it may end up on the streets
or in landfills just piling on top of each
other.

GARBAGE COLLECTORS
RECYCLING PLANTS OR
SCHOOL BIN UNDER THE MoEF&CC
LANDFILLS
PART 2: HOW DOES INDIA MANAGE ITS
WASTE?

What are some of the problems that are

associated with the kind of waste management
that has been mentioned in your case study?
CASE STUDY 1:
The main problem in this case
study was the fact that the
garbage collected was getting
disposed of in landfills and in some cases burned, this was taken as a
shortcut means and instead of recycling the above mentioned was being
done with the waste this
contributed large amounts of air
pollution.

CASE STUDY 2:

The main issue here is how

the government has time
and time again failed to
notice how people are just blatantly littering the beaches of
Mumbai without thinking about the consequences their actions
will cause to the environment, and taking strict action against this
problem. The government should ensure that people are well
aware of what they are doing and clean up the beaches
CASE STUDY 3:
● Trash and waste getting dumped in landfills around us is not a
new topic. Neither is it one that can be solved now as this system
of dumping waste has been going on for generations now and has
ingrained itself into society. The problem with this specific case
study is based on 2 questions: how did the local municipal
authorities agree to there being a landfill or garbage mountain
near the wetlands of kolkata which used
to be flourishing site full of beautiful
animals and their families, and even if it
was started without their consent why
did they not take any action the second
they found about this taking place.

CASE STUDY 4:
● The main problem in this case is the fact
that the local garbage bins on streets and
in communities are not getting regularly emptied and the waste
from multiple homes just keeps on piling up without being
removed making this area a severe breeding ground for flies,
mosquitoes and other disease carrying vectors.

Why do these problems occur?

I think that there 2 main reasons for the occurrence of these problems:
- The first being, the government is slowly striding towards a
cleaner healthier earth, the operative word there being SLOWLY
I have personally noticed this that whenever huge garbage
mountains are being constructed in our localities, or the streets
are being flooded with waste from overflowing bins, the
government will choose to ignore and not pay attention to it
until and unless people start raising their voices over it and start
to criticize the authorities on doing their duty properly...but the
second they hear this a flip switches and suddenly campaigns are
 being run, people
are being punished
for not taking their
responsibility
seriously and other
methods
correction are
established which
ideally should have
been there from
the get go, not
when the situation
is so extreme that
you have no choice
but to implement
it.

- However, the government is not the only one

to blame for this, we as good citizens should be conscious and manage the amount of waste we
are producing on an average per day in our household, but even in some of the most educated
homes food, plastic bottles, bags, clothes and other materials get thrown into the garbage bins
at home that they are filled to the brim faster than you can say “save mother Earth”. And this is
not good at the speed people are throwing away material that can be recycled 3 to 4 times or
can be donated. These huge garbage dump mountains will only continue to grow, so hit that
RECYCLE button as fast as you can.

What are some of the other waste related problems that occur in the city that are
mentioned in your case study?
Other waste related problems include:
CASE STUDY 1:
● Emissions from biomass and open burning of waste
contribute to almost 20-30% of the total air pollution in
Delhi.
 ● Moreover, people burn plastic waste in the city which
releases toxins such as dioxins into the air.
● Waste dumpsites near the city also release methane which
is a powerful greenhouse gas that causes global warming.
● Even the ash, that remains after the waste gets burned, is
full of poisonous heavy metals like lead and cadmium
which in turn cause cancer.
● Burning of waste has led to air and water pollution and a
loss of precious resources which could have been recycled
to make other products.

CASE STUDY 2:
● of the 260 million tons of plastic produced each year,
about 10% lands up in the ocean. About 70% of this sinks
to the button of the ocean floor but the rest floats and is
tossed into beaches by waves, polluting them.
● Plastic waste kills up to 1 million seabirds, 10,000 sea
mammals, marine turtles and countless fish each year.
● As much as 80% of our oceans are made of plastic.
● The plastic breaks down into millions of pieces of micro-
plastic scientists are very worried about this because all
kinds of smaller animals – from zooplanktons to fish - eat
them and die.
CASE STUDY 3:
● The dumpsite at Dhapa is near the wetlands of Kolkata
which supports a lot of wildlife.
● Studies have shown that these wetlands now show traces
of heavy metal pollution that are originating from the
Dhapa dumpsite.
● that seven out of ten people in Kolkata suffer from
respiratory illnesses and that pollution affects all living
 things from humans to plants and animals living in the
wetlands.

CASE STUDY 4:
● Overflowing garbage bins are an ideal breeding ground for
bacteria and other germs and the
● Flies the visit the garbage are also the same flies that roam
around your food and leave germs that cause diseases like
diarrhoea, gastroenteritis and other major illnesses.
● Besides flies the bins attract crows which lift the rotting
food and drop it in the streets and gardens.
● Cows scatter the rotting food and chew on the plastic
bags.
● Rats and stray dogs add to the problem. Rats cause many
diseases like leptospirosis and plague, both of which can
kill people.
● In order to get rid of the waste in the overflowing bins
some people burn the waste in the bins and this releases all
kinds of toxins which pollutes the air and causes
respiratory diseases.

Are the problems in your case study similar or different to any waste-related problems
that you have seen in your locality?
Yes I can relate to a lot of these problems - the overflowing bins the large garbage
mountains and how this harms the animals around us - as i have witnessed these
first hand in my locality.
Can you mention some of the additional problems that occur in your locality or town
or city?
Some additional problems i have noticed in my locality include:
● People, especially young kids sometimes just throw away
chocolate wrapper or candy wrappers or any treats’ packaging on
the road without even thinking about its consequences, just
because they are too lazy or occupied to walk over to the local
community bin and throw it there, littering the streets.
● There is also a lot of mismanagement of waste management and
collecting in my locality, this leads to garbage being collected for
over long periods of time and young kids falling ill and in some
cases this als causes conflict between neighbours on whose waste
is exactly responsible for this.

Can you think of some of the solutions to such problems?

I think some of the more obvious solutions would include:
● First, Running campaigns, hosting plays in localities and running
educational movies in local gardens and parks to educate the
masses in brief on how mismanagement of waste is affecting our
society, humankind and mother earth, this would help them
realise what they are doing and working, hopefully to start
working towards a cleaner and greener path in life.
● Second, encouraging young school going children to find their
inner voice and start running their very own cleaning campaigns
and hey, maybe even start a movement to collect garbage in and
around there schools and segregating it if not already done, this
would not only give them a first hand experience at helping the
community and developing and honing their skills such as
leadership and communication, but also the psychological
euphoria they will receive on doing this cannot be compared to
any other feeling in life, it would give them a sense of pride and
happiness that they - even if just by small amount - helped save
mother earth and this feeling can never be forgotten in life.
Can you find out about some organisation and practices in your community or in any
other place in India that is making waste management more sustainable. In order to
answer this question your group may need to undertake some research.
● Shuddhi is a non-governmental organization (NGO) working in Delhi,
India Shuddhi works in the area of Environment and natural resource
management and works towards the promotion of sustainable
development.
● Consortium for DEWATS dissemination society is a not-for-profit
organization, registered in 2005, that innovates, demonstrates and
disseminates decentralized nature-based solutions for the conservation,
collection, treatment and reuse of water resources and management of
sanitation facilities. They believe in three key pillars to Solid Waste
Management (SWM) – micro-planning, decentralized management
(especially of wet waste) and stakeholder engagement. The “Polluter
Pays” principle is a strong driver of the process. While communities or
citizens may not always have the time to plan SWM systems for their
areas, it is definitely possible to engage them in a way such that they own
up to their responsibilities as waste generators.
● Indian Pollution Control Association(IPCA) is a not-for-profit, non-
government organization(NGO), established in the year 2001 with the
support of Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. Their mission is to
improve livelihood through responsible use of natural resources for the
welfare of present and future generations. To ensure proper
recycling/processing of different kinds of waste to produce other useful
consumable products. To provide solutions to environment and climate
related problems.

Think of additional questions you feel may address these issues.

Some questions could be :
 ● Why in cases such as those mentioned in the case studies action is
almost always taken when the situation becomes so severe that
people gain diseases, fall ill and in some cases even die?
● Do you feel that the government can be held responsible for
delaying actions taken against mismanagement of waste? Give
reason for your choice of answer.
● Can you describe some ways in which you ensure that
mismanagement of waste does not take place in your house of
locality and in what way do you encourage others to follow the
same?

PART 3: REFLECTION :

Do you think the current waste management in your school is effective?

● If it is a private school I guess that waste management of the garbage is
effective as in a good private school there can be different garbage bins
about biodegradable or non-biodegradable waste. They can be using
other methods too like reuse, recycle, waste minimization and more
sustainable methods than disposing it in the landfills.

● If it is a government school I guess that the waste management of the

garbage will be equal to private schools or cannot be too. As some of the
schools care about waste management and some don’t. So it depends on
the situation of the school or what kind of school it is.

Where does the waste go finally from your school bin?

Usually when garbage is taken it goes through processes like separate the trash ,
recycle etc. After that the garbage man takes it through the garbage truck to the
landfills to dump it there .
Why do we have waste dumps in cities?
The population in cities - even the small ones - is quite large and still continues
to grow, some may even say that they are overpopulated. This huge population
will without a doubt produce huge amounts of garbage. Considering the fact
that humans can be quite lazy and the quickest and most time efficient way of
getting rid of all this garbage and that is why we have a large number of waste
dumps in cities.

Where are the waste dumps usually located?

Waste Dumps are generally located in urban areas where a large amount of
waste is generated and has to be dumped in a common place.

What happens when dumps or landfills fill up? What if your house was near a dumpsite
– how would you feel?
● When the landfill has reached its capacity, the waste is covered with clay
and another plastic shield. Above that, several feet of dirt fill is topped
with soil and plants.
● If a landfill was neas my house, it would create a very gloomy
environment, this would continuously make me feel sad and
unmotivated to do anything, the continuous smell of the waste would
also make me uncomfortable at my own house.

What are the problems that are associated with the ways in which cities manage their
waste?
the major problems affecting waste management are:
● unscientific treatment
● improper collection of waste
● ethical problems
● Not recycling materials that could be recycled
Is our current waste management system linear or circular?
I think the current waste management system could be consider in “The Linear
Economy”

Why do you think waste is managed in those ways currently?

I think the waste is managed in such a way due to the unawareness among
society, most people do not understand how following a linear waste
management system would harm the environment and that is why it is still
being continued to be implemented

How does our current waste management affect our health and the environment?
The current waste management system does the following :
● It leads to severe environmental degradation
● It creates air pollution, soil pollution and water pollution
● It releases harmful gases like methane which contribute to global
warming and climate change

Do you think the problems in the case studies occur in other parts of the country as
well?
Yes, I think that similar problems, if not more severe can be seen all over India.