Blogs

CAG’s Zero Waste Team visited Thanal in Trivandrum team to understand how Thanal has been instrumental in helping the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation set up an effective zero waste management system in place. The visit introduced the team to the challenges and opportunities of working at a city scale.

Bio-CNG technology of late had attracted a lot of interest because of its varied advantages. So what actually is Bio-CNG and how it provides a solution to problems like crop burning and solid waste management?

புகைபிடித்தல் உடல் நலத்திற்கு கேடு விளைவிக்கும் என்பது அனைவருக்கும் தெரிந்த ஒன்று.ஆனால் சிகரெட் துண்டுகளால் சுற்றுசூழலுக்கு ஏற்படும் கேடுகளை பற்றி தெரியுமா? அதற்கான தீர்வு தான் என்ன ?

நாள்தோறும் தரம் பிரிக்கப்படாத குப்பை, கிடங்கில் வந்து குவிவதால் ஏற்படும் பல்வேறு வகையான கேடுகளில்  ஒன்று ஒயிட்னருக்கு அடிமையாகுதல் (whitener addiction) எனப்படும் ஒரு வகை போதை பழக்கம். கொடுங்கையூரில் திகழும் நிலவரமும் அதனால் சிறுவர்களை தொடரும் அபாயத்தை பற்றிய ஒரு குறிப்பு இது.

The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), India’s sanitation programme states that it aims to reduce health and sanitation vulnerabilities among the poor through access to toilets. However, we find that far from minimising vulnerabilities, the scheme seems to exploit their vulnerabilities to gain publicity and political support.

The Solid Waste Management Rules came into force in 2016, but it was only in 2018 that Chennai Corporation drafted the bye-laws. The bye-laws in its present form falls short of a clean sweep due to some patent issues at its core. However, if due measures are taken to rectify the inadequacies, and make the process participatory, it could be an opportunity to wipe the slate clean.

In constant contempt of the SWM Rules 2016 and its own bye-laws, Chennai Corporations continues to collect mixed waste and dispose it in dumpyards in Kodungaiyur, Perungudi and other locations in the city. Rather than enforce source segregation and promote composting, it intends to set up incinerators to burn the waste.

This blog is a light-hearted account by Kripa Ramachandran describing a zero-waste wedding in Chennai. CAG provided technical inputs for conducting the zero-waste wedding. 

Most city residents continue to casually toss garbage out of their homes, frequently forgetting the section that must bear the repercussions. This blog is in the form of a poem.

This is a series of basic FAQS to help debunk common misconceptions about waste management and clarify doubts that stop citizens from doing their bit in taking responsibility for their own waste. While there are many more aspects to waste management, these FAQs focus on (de)centralised system of waste management and composting.