Neethi Nair
Introduction
Industrialisation, commercialisation, and urbanisation have offered employment opportunities, better living conditions, versatile transportation, communication, advanced education, and health facilities. Like every coin has two sides, urbanization also created problems of overcrowding, reduced surface albedo, pollution, environmental degradation, overexploitation of natural resources, and other social issues. One of such global issues is the management of waste.
Our ancient and traditional methods focused on conserving, preserving, and recycling, but today, the use-and-throw culture has become more popular. As per the World Bank, global waste is anticipated to rise from 2.01 billion tonnes in 2016 to 3.4 billion tonnes by 2050. In comparison to developed countries, developing countries with high population densities face a lot of challenges in managing their municipal solid waste. The vast amount of accumulated waste and lack of scientific disposal methods have not only caused health and aesthetic issues, but also are responsible for environmental degradation and ecological imbalance.
Role of Citizens in Waste Management
In a country like India, waste management is challenging owing to ever-changing waste
composition, steadily growing volume, cultural divergence, improper infrastructure facilities, significant handling/treatment cost, and a limited policy framework. Due to the complex city dynamics the waste management has become a sole responsibility of the municipalities. On the contrary, the diversified nature of waste requires a multifaceted approach that involves extensive support from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community-based organizations (CBOs), industry-related associations, waste entrepreneurs, recyclers, media, local leaders, rag pickers, and citizens.
For effective waste management, the active participation of the community is inevitable. Since the trash from households is are dominant contributor to it, the local community has become one of the major stakeholders in the waste management process.
As per the Ministry of Environment of Japan, citizens’ involvement can be initiated on three key principles: understanding, cooperation, and participation. Collaboration, cooperation, transparency, accountability, and active engagement among citizens develop trust in the local authorities. Their involvement is vital for aligning management practices with environmental goals and fostering a sense of collective responsibility.
Driving Force for Community Participation
There are a lot of intrinsic, extrinsic, and behavioral factors driving community participation. A strong, intensive environmental knowledge, along with technical skill, nurtures a willingness to increase participation in waste segregation. Individual realization- “My waste is my responsibility” an ownership of a positive mindset to overcome NIMBY syndrome. Educational content enriched with spiritual/religious-based ethics and moral values can help to create a greater impact on human minds and bring perceived behavioral control regarding environmental awareness. Theoretical and practical lessons on waste segregation, recycling, and composting should be imparted from early childhood.
It is observed that women suffer the most due to a lack of sanitation and mismanagement of waste. Globally the women are strong contributors and are at the forefront in waste collection activities. In Bengaluru, “pourakarmikas’ or the formal waste taskforce, majorly dominated by women, which gives them economic independence and promotes circular economy. Incentive-based programs for waste segregation, reduction, and recycling are also found to be one of the motivating drivers.
Studies show that individuals familiar with waste management activity from childhood show continuity in the long term. The role of habits plays a significant role in stimulating intention to action. Low participation or absenteeism should attract additional costs and convey a strong message to residents to participate.
Developing a rewarding system or a market where the residents can easily sell their recyclables, deposit return schemes, and Extended producer responsibility (EPR) mechanisms encourage community for active participation. Scientific disposal practices, adequate and sufficient infrastructure, comprehensive regulation, and influential social norms are the extrinsic factors driving the community’s perception and behavior. By campaigning the educational contents and boosting environmental awareness relevant to the residents, highlighting the local environmental problems along with extrinsic factors, ensures sustainable resident participation effectiveness.
Success Stories
The public-private partnership model of Pune Municipal Corporation normalized the waste pickers, which increased the recycling by 80-85%. In Bengaluru, the social movement by the local villagers were just not only succeeded in stopping dumping it in Mandur Landfill but also forced the government to initiate the bio-mining process for rejuvenation of that area. The Indore Municipal Corporation’s persistent awareness programs involving celebrities, religious leaders, and schoolchildren created a profound shift in public behavior and embedded a sense of environmental stewardship among the residents. Notably, the city has been recognized as one of the cleanest and most inspiring examples of sustainable urban living.
How can one contribute
- Ethical Consumer- Be a responsible buyer. Be vocal for locals. Prefer minimum packaging.
- Practice Composting- Convert all your wet waste into compost. Apartments can go for biogas plants. The manure produced can be used for growing your own organic fresh vegetables.
- Recycling- Follow the 3 R’s wherever possible. Clean the plastic covers/bottles/ containers once it is emptied. Store plastic, glass, and metal in a dry container separately.
- Deposit Return Scheme- Enquire and return the empty bottles and packaging to industries through the deposit return scheme.
- Empathy- Show respect and empathy towards waste collectors. Because of them, we are healthy and disease-free.
- Ownership- Show ownership towards your waste and enquire where it ends up.
- Engagement- Show up in cleanliness drives, recycling programs, waste segregation initiatives, reporting defaulters for scrutiny, and other decision-making processes.
- Felicitate Environmental Stewardship- Identify the stewards of your area, recognize them, and try to become one.
Conclusion
The need of the hour is the development of strategic policies that emphasize long-term
partnership between the public and private sectors. The involvement of the inclusive and socially marginalized ones from informal sections, recognizing them as key contributors. Their untapped potential and experience must be channeled to develop strategies for the region concerned. Decentralization, flexible strategies based on local requirements, fragmented responsibilities, empowering residents for collective action, and law enforcement with adequate penalties will pave the way for a sustainable waste management system.
About the contributor: Neethi Nair is a Ph.D. Research Scholar, Dept. of Environmental Science, Jnana Bharathi Campus, Bangalore University. She is a fellow of EPAYF 2.0 – Environment Policy and Action Youth Fellowship, Cohort 2.0.
Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation.
Read more at IMPRI:
The Silent Spread: How Invasive Species Are Rewriting Forest Life in India
Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (2011)- Empowering Women Farmers
Acknowledgement: This article was posted by Khushboo Dandona, a research intern at IMPRI.
