How To Create 'Effective Garbage Management' Awareness in India

In the developing countries like India, ‘Garbage/Waste Management has been a challenging problem faced by the Government authorities, in view of the increasing volume of garbage produced and the lack of land/space for disposal of garbage collected from the households and factories etc.

As all kinds of wastes, including solid wastes, re-usable/re-cycle-able materials like paper, cloth and plastics are thrown by the people in garbage bins and dumped in garbage storing landscapes.

In almost all the parts of India, millions of people, especially women and children are engaged in rag/waste- picking as the means of their livelihood.

The ‘Waste-Pickers’ are looked down upon by other people and the waste pickers experience difficulties in their life of waste picking for their survival.

In Pune, public activists/NGOs have set up an organisation, by name-‘ Kagad, Kach, Patra, Kashtakari Panchayat’/KKPKP for the cause of fighting for the rights of rag/waste pickers.

It is notable that a lady member of –‘ Kagad, Kach, Patra, Kashtakari Panchayat’/KKPKP, Pune participated in and addressed the ‘104th Session of the ‘International Labour Conference’ of the ‘International Labour Organization’/ILOheld at Genevo from from 1st June 2015 to 13th June 2015 at Geneva, Switzerland.

The member of -‘ Kagad, Kach, Patra, Kashtakari Panchayat’/KKPKP, Pune, 50 years old Ms.Suman More had been a ‘Waste-Picker’ for her livelihood since 37 years.

In her address at the ‘ILC’, Ms.Suman More had explained her experiences in her life of ‘waste-picking’ and the contributions of their association–‘ Kagad, Kach, Patra, Kashtakari Panchayat’/KKPKP, Pune, in improving the status of their member ‘waste pickers’.

In India, the corporations and the Municipalities have delegated the garbage management to private contractors.

The private contractors, collect the garbage from the households and factories and destroy the entire garbage by burning, in view of the labour and cost of segregating the re-cycle able waste and bio waste which can be converted into compost for use as fertiliziers.

Because of the private contractors handling the garbage collection and clearance, the ‘waste-pickers’ are affected in their operations and also their source of livelihood is affected.

The Union Government of India has launched “Swachch Bharath” Mission and “Smart Cities Mission” for ‘Cleaning India’.

The State Government of Delhi has announced that a National Award with a Cash Prize of Rs 1.5 Lakhs will be given to the 3 best rag pickers and 3 ‘Associations of Rag Pickers’ for their contribution in keeping India Clean and to encourage further the ‘Clean India’ Mission.

The Union Government of India and the State Governments in India will have to take the possible and necessary steps to manage efficiently, the garbage in the cities and towns and enable the re-cycle able wastes to be segregated and the ‘waste pickers’ would get benefit from the same, in collaboration with the Associations of Waste Pickers and the ‘NGO’s really interested in the welfare of ‘waste pickers’ and garbage management, in the various parts of India.

The general public also should be aware of the importance of and the difficulties in ‘Waste/Garbage Management’ and sort out wastes while throwing them into their dust-bins and while disposing off into the public garbage collecting bins, or giving away to door to door garbage collectors.