Waste pickers have been at the heart of India's waste systems for many years, but their role has been barely acknowledged by any system. They have been going around cities and towns collecting, sorting, and diverting recyclable materials from the waste stream, usually in unsafe conditions, and without any formal recognition.
When the National Green Tribunal (NGT) recently recommended that India's waste crisis be dealt with in "mission mode", it did not merely put forward a new slogan for the public to latch on to. Rather, it was, in a sense, issuing a warning. India produces over 1.6 lakh tonnes of municipal solid waste every day, more than 60 million tonnes yearly, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
Walk through almost any street, beach, or market in Chennai and one thing is immediately visible: informal vendors. Tea carts at junctions, snack stalls near beaches, breakfast pushcarts in residential lanes, flower vendors outside temples, fish sellers near coastal stretches; they are woven into the fabric of daily city life, contributing to local economies and serving thousands of people every day.
Climate action in India has come a long way. States have developed climate action plans, launched missions, and initiated interventions across energy, water, agriculture, and urban sectors. Tamil Nadu, in particular, has been among the frontrunners, consistently performing well on SDG 13 and building a growing architecture of climate-focused missions and policies, from the State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) to the Tamil Nadu Climate Change Mission and the District Climate Mission.
The Amazon was a symbol of the undeniable urgency with which COP30 commenced. The rainforest, a global stabiliser, was clearly under increasing pressure, setting a context for a conference in which ambition and anxiety went hand in hand. Delegates were greeted with the position that this would be the COP of implementation. By the conclusion of the conference, the world was left pondering whether Belem had advanced climate justice, or it simply rearranged old promises.
We’re living in a time when two powerful forces are reshaping our world, climate change and rapid advances in technology. Faced with rising heat, floods, and extreme weather, governments and businesses are turning to data and artificial intelligence (AI) to find answers. But as these tools begin to shape major decisions, we have to ask: Whose data are we using? Whose voices are being left out? And who gets to decide what counts as a ‘solution’?
Geneva was meant to be the turning point. For ten tense days, the Palais des Nations carried the weight of a world desperate for relief from plastic pollution. Delegates arrived with briefcases full of ambition, and they left on the morning of 15 August with no agreement. The headlines quickly called it a failure, “Talks collapse, no deal reached”. But silence in Geneva did not mean surrender.
This blog was originally published in Citizen Matters on 26th May, 2025.
Plastic, Policies and People brings grassroots voices into the global conversation on plastic pollution. This report captures insights from waste workers, youth, RWAs, and MSMEs across four cities, highlighting their expectations, concerns, and priorities for the Global Plastics Treaty. It underscores the need for an inclusive, just, and accountable treaty that reflects the lived realities of those most impacted. Through vivid documentation and powerful narratives, the report offers a bottom-up perspective on what a truly transformative plastics treaty must look like.
As waves lapped at Busan’s shores, delegates inside INC-5 (25 November - 1 December 2024) faced a storm of their own - the task of negotiating a treaty that will shape the future of our planet’s relationship with plastics. Delegates from across the globe came together, grappling with the urgent need to address the escalating plastic crisis that threatens ecosystems, economies, and human health. From microplastics in our bloodstreams to mountains of waste in landfills, the repercussions of plastic pollution are undeniable.
