Mumbai, one of the metropolitan cities of India, generates 7,025 tonnes of waste per day, approximately the weight of 1550 elephants! Because the slum residents of Mumbai lack a proper waste management system, much of the waste generated leads to severe degradation of the environment.
Waste pollution within the Mithi River, Mumbai (Yale E360)
The uncollected and untreated waste goes into drains, sea and landfills, causing massive land and water pollution
Moreover, the improper disposal of waste leads to poor sanitation and further exacerbates the poor conditions within the slum communities of Mumbai.
Improper disposal of waste due to an insufficient waste management system in Andheri, Mumbai (Free Press Journal)
WASTE MANAGEMENT AND SEGREGATION TRAINING IN ANDHERI, MUMBAI
Located in downtown Mumbai, Andheri highlights the drastic consequences of plastic waste in the ecosystem. Improper disposal of plastic waste led to vast amounts ending up in the Mithi River by Andheri.
To combat this issue, Earth5R volunteers educated residents of Andheri, Mumbai on the importance of waste segregation through the Circular Economy focused Livelihood Training Program.
An Earth5R volunteer conducts the waste segregation training at east Andheri in Mumbai (Earth5R)
Explaining the significance of waste management, the Earth5R volunteer encourages communities to pursue a more sustainable lifestyle (Earth5R)
Under the Livelihood Program, families in East Andheri, Mumbai participate in meaningful conversations on the necessary steps to establish a proper waste segregation system (Earth5R)
Through interactive aspects of the training, the Livelihood Program taught Andheri’s slum residents the significance of pursuing a sustainable lifestyle for the community and, ultimately, the planet.
The Earth5R educated residents on proper classification and segregation of hazardous and medical waste, composting and its uses in the garden, pyrolysis and its benefits on the environment, and many more sustainable actions.
An Earth5R volunteer discusses with residents the importance of waste segregation on the local community and ecosystem (Earth5R)
The Earth5R team teaches a family in Andheri, Mumbai the significance of waste segregation on the environment (Earth5R)
The Earth5R volunteer educates citizens on eco-friendly practices to benefit the environment and reduce waste (Earth5R)
Not only did the Earth5R team successfully benefit the environment and community through the diversion of waste, but it also empowered the community economically.
From the project, residents of Andheri were trained to upcycle segregated waste, such as discarded clothes, paper and plastic, into products with value to sell on the market. In particular, women of the community were equipped with entrepreneurship skills to contribute, to a larger extent, to the local economy.
Approximately 100200 rupees were generated from the process of upcycling under the Livelihood Program
Earth5R volunteer equipping women in the community with livelihood skills needed to contribute to the local economy (Earth5R)
Earth5R team utilizes pictorial aspects of training to educate citizens on the importance of waste segregation (Earth5R)
Thus, the massive efforts of the training in various regions of India served to benefit both the health of the environment and provide residents with livelihood generation opportunities to boost the local economy.
Under the Livelihood Program, a total of 3000 families were trained and 2.85 tons of waste was diverted from the landfills.
Hence through actions at the community level, the Earth5R volunteers demonstrated the capabilities of a team with a united purpose to educate the slum residents on the importance of waste segregation in order to encourage a more sustainable lifestyle for a healthier planet.
ABOUT EARTH5R
Earth5R is an environmental organization from India with its head office in Mumbai. It works with the NGO sector, Companies and helps them conduct environmental Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs across India.
Earth5R specializes in circular economy based projects. Earth5R also offers short term and long term environmental courses and fellowships.
-Reported by Claire Hsu, Edited by Sajitha Siril