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.
The story map depicts the advocated alternative to the centralised waste management system, to address the prevailing issues in the existing system. The zero-waste model represents a holistic vision to eradicate corruption in public services and restore the balance in ecology and environment.
From brimming garbage bins to diminishing space in landfills, the city’s waste is hauled in large trucks and compactors. The current centralized waste management system not only proves to be ecologically unsustainable, but uneconomical and inefficient. The link to the story map below will take you through the journey waste traverses after it leaves our homes.
Imagine opening one of your drawers on a typical office day and discovering to your horror a used sanitary napkin lying there. This is a scene in a promotional video created for a better sanitary waste management system in Pune. Its message is clear: it would be unpleasant for you to discover a blood-soaked sanitary pad in your workplace so why force waste pickers to undergo this?
The issue of flooding has been the greatest concern among residents of Chennai over the last two monsoon cycles. Drains choked with plastic bags and shrinking open spaces cause water to stagnate on the roads with the lightest of rains. Besides the flooding, the cycle continues with the dangerous aedes aegypti mosquito making its home in stagnant water sources.