PloggaIndia

03/06/2022

Last month, we facilitated a plog near Delhi University with the kind support of led by .n.surya and the enthusiastic team of jogging and picking up trash, segregating it, and conducting a brief waste audit. This is what they found: The combined team collected at least two bags full of of single use plastics, 1.5 bags full of of multi layer plastics, 1 bag full of of recyclable plastics and other materials such as paper, cardboard and plastic bottles. Multi layer plastics mostly had paan masala packets, tetra packs like frooti etc, while Single use plastics mostly comprised of daily use polythenes and disposable spoons and plates.

Another observation they noted was that the litter near the college and park area was probably cause by food vendors who sold disposable plastics, but also by consumers who irresponsibly disposed off the waste.

A big hug and thanks to both the teams for putting this together and doing it so well and with the right spirit!!

Here’s a shoutout to anyone who would like to collaborate with us in future for plogs, hit me up!

30/04/2022

People in Delhi, is collaborating with for a plogging sesh in North Campus this Sunday. Support them by joining them and lend a helping hand maybe! For more details get in touch with .n.surya

21/04/2022

13/08/2021

Plan to phase-out Single-Use plastics has finally taken shape. We can only hope that this policy is implemented in letter and spirit by implementing authorities and stakeholders. An information and communication plan has also taken shape which will inform stakeholders like RWAs, market associations and NGOs, about the changes and their role in compliance, and implementation!

30/07/2021

It’s not over till we say it’s over! So here we are again, restarting albeit in a very limited manner, with the support of an enthusiastic bunch of students from - having said that, we will only plog with 5-6 people with adequate social distancing measures.
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We start from the Delhi School of Social Work in North Campus and jog our way towards the ridge area where we will concentrate most of our efforts. We begin at 8 am and end by 9 am. During the plog, we will identify the waste, segregate it, pick it up in designated jute trash bags, and dispose it off in designated recycling/collection centers. There are obvious limitations here as municipal waste tempos won’t be available this time. However we have identified a spot near the university office where the trash can be deposited with the hope that it will be segregated further by waste workers.
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28/06/2021

Now, this isn’t something that we don’t know already. But knowing that groundwater quality is severely affected, especially in areas around landfills where economically weaker sections of our society reside, due to leachate from landfills, it’s appalling that majority of people living in cities still don’t segregate their waste into wet and dry, which is one the main reasons perpetuating this vicious cycle. Closely related to this is the fact that our localities and communities need to start moving towards decentralising waste management by setting up small/manageable composting units in parks (where excess land is available), by instilling a sense of responsibility among our community members to treat waste as resource and incentivise waste reduction, look for ways and means to increase the social, financial security net of waste workers, have a robust waste tracking technology that can plug the gaps in the system among other things. A seamless convergence of proper waste governance among stakeholders (including communities like yours), existing policy implementation, decentralised push for waste management, will not only help in reducing waste but also the vulnerabilities that come with it!

18/04/2021

Someone dropped their face mask, and gloves thinking it’s someone else’s job to pick it up! Entitlement!

Was hoping against hope when i thought that at least the pandemic may force a shift in public mindset about hazardous waste and it’s safe disposal. But as they say, the more things change, more they remain the same.

17/04/2021

The first day of Delhi’s weekend curfew and the situation mimics last year’s full lockdown where only essential activity and essential/frontline workers were allowed to operate. Significant among them, and one who is not appreciated enough, is the waste picker/garbage collector who continues to collect trash from households during the pandemic. Waste management plays a critical role, especially during Covid-19, which translates to renewed focus on the amount of waste produced, concerns with how hazardous materials are discarded, handled, and treated. The human side of waste is that The section of society that handles the waste for us come from marginalised, vulnerable communities that fuel their livelihoods by collecting, recycling out trash. It’s appalling to realise that even when they provide such a critical environmental service to civil society they are also subjected to various forms of discrimination. If there’s one very important action we would like you to take to reduce their vulnerability is to SEGREGATE WASTE AT HOME, into wet and dry dustbins. This means less mixed waste going to landfills, less mixed waste going to incinerators, less mixed waste reaching informal recycling centres, leading to better health and environmental outcomes for all.

17/04/2021

Spoke about what plogging is and how this could be one solution to build communities that shift from a take-make-dispose mindset to a more circular thought process. Thanks for the opportunity

17/04/2021

Time to understand what comes first in the waste hierarchy: refusing!

The Himalaya has a waste crisis and all of us are struggling with it.

Sustainable Waste Management a road map for mountain landscapes is our narrative to address the crisis with a long term vision and immediate actions. The road map will contribute to policy makers, waste managers and people's of the mountains reflection and action for a cleaner planet.

The road map highlights the importance of changing the narrative of what sustainable waste management is in the mountains and the need for planning that strategically diverts waste from the landfill.

The road mad calls on looking at a diversity of participatory interventions that are site and stakeholder specific and the need to have these interventions designed with people’s participation. It also highlights systemic changes and an enlightened political will and leadership required. Clear stepping stones and road map towards the vision of waste reduction and an acknowledgement that there is no magical wand that will wave the problem away has been highlighted.

You can download the road map in the links below:

https://bit.ly/3mQGvtD

or
https://www.thehimalayancleanup.com/downloads

The road map is part of our reflection, action and demand for a cleaner Himalaya through the

12/04/2021

How many of you know that there are government guidelines on safe disposal of surgical face masks in India? Wouldn’t be surprised if many of you said no.

😷 the guideline from the issued last year stated that “used masks used by people, whether infected or not, should be cut and kept in a paper bag for a minimum of 72 hours prior to their disposal as general waste.”

😷 the decision was taken to ensure safe disposal of biomedical waste during the pandemic.

😷 back in April 2020, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had expressed concerns about the issue of gaps in compliance of the Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016. Therefore, it had called for storing masks for 72 hours and cut it to prevent reuse.

😷 we have all the rules, policies, regulations in place but there’s a huge gap in implementation and communication. Many still don’t know that there are any such rules in place!

😷 Contaminated face masks and gloves post serious health threat to waste pickers who mostly deal with the waste with bare hands.

Now you know the rules, and your duty! This message needs to reach more people!!!!!