Waste Management
India is drowning in its own garbage. 1.2 billion Indians who produce more than 115000 tons of waste every day. As per the latest Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) dashboard, municipalities collect waste door to door from 96 per cent of households—around 75 per cent of the households follow source segregation and of the collected waste 60 per cent is processed. It is estimated that more than 22.5 million tons of waste is disposed in open sites across the country.
The challenges we face
Getting to the waste
Polythene is rarely collected and is often disposed of by burning in open fires which produce toxic chemicals.
Impact on people
Waste workers put their health at risk due to no segregation of waste at source.
Strain on resources
Unmanaged waste puts tremendous strain on land resources through illegal/un managed dumping.
Lack of recycling puts further strain in natural resources.
Water Pollution
Plastic waste is choking tributaries to rivers putting flow at risk.
Segregation
Segregation at source is poor where most of the household generated is diverted completely to the landfill.
Community Engagement
Working with community at a Mohalla and ward level to understand the challenges and bottlenecks.
Use of low value Waste Plastic
SGIF has developed a process to use low value/non recyclable plastic in traditional paver blocks.
Respect for Waste Workers
Inclusion of people who work with waste in designing programs and practices.
Promotion of Segregation at Source
Segregating the waste at source is the key to effective processing of waste as a basic step to respect for waste workers