As a country that is on its way to development, there are a few issues that continuously hold us back from getting there. One of the many obstacles that we face currently is improper waste management and segregation. Waste management is a rampant problem both across urban and rural areas. Although generally speaking a significant part of the population has become quite aware because of initiatives like Swacch Bharat Abhiyan, an undertaking by the Indian Government. However, the number of efforts made to encounter the issue is clearly not enough. An evident consequence of this lack of knowledge can be observed, in the methods of waste segregation employed by the people in the urban as well as rural areas.

Most of the urban residential complexes, and independent houses in rural areas, for the longest time, did not segregate waste. They would dispose of all sorts of waste in one standard dustbin. The garbage collected from such dustbins was then taken, to barren land, in the particular vicinity, where all the refuse consisting of biodegradable as well as non-biodegradable waste would collectively be dumped. However, the insensible practice was luckily brought to an end, by The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change with their Solid Waste Management (SWM) rules enforced in 2016. As a nation, this was India's first official step towards waste segregation. 

 ^{Training Program for Residents}

While this intervention has improved the situation of waste management significantly, there is ample scope for further amelioration in the practice of waste segregation practiced by the masses. Addressing this pressing need is the “Alag Karo- Har Din Teen Bin”, program. It started in 2017 in Gurugram. The first step of the initiative was a baseline survey, to understand the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) among the masses of the region towards the newly introduced waste segregation system. Our research gave us insights that could facilitate a program, which aims at introducing an effective and eco-friendly way of waste management.

The guiding idea of the Alag Karo program was to introduce behavioural change by implementing, segregation of waste at source and encouraging citizens to manage their waste well at source by waste segregation. It was essential to educate and sensitize people as well as the waste management workers, to this new way of waste segregation.

To educate people about the significance of waste management- planned sessions were conducted, along with door to door collection for demonstration. The next step was to monitor the execution and track the progress followed by on-site compost.

In terms of execution, the primary consideration was to separate e-waste (Domestic hazardous), wet waste and dry waste, hence the three bins. The waste was taken to the composition site and separated. These sites were equipped, with recycling units that would help in composting of all the trash. The first leg of the execution of Alag Karo in Gurugram was a great success. The team managed to reach over 1 Lakh people and brought enormous awareness and sensitization. It included the residents, workers, shops and offices.

^{Waste Worker Innovation}

In terms of the total amount of waste generated and composted, there was 10.04 tons of wet waste, 6.75 tons of dry waste and 1.54 tons of e-waste / domestic hazardous waste. Our efforts also had a string of economic benefits for our project beneficiaries.  A total of Rs.2,80,869 was saved, on tipping fee due to better recovery per unit. Other than this, the average waste inflow per household also came down to Rs.68. One of the most significant developments that resulted because of this initiative was better employment.

Other than these figures, our true success lay in the fact that the world's business giants, like Coca-Cola and Tetra Pak, entrust us with fundsand is being implemented by Saahas, a not-for-profit organization. Our significant stakeholders were citizens of Gurugram, residents of the building, Municipal Corporation of Gurugram, waste management workers, offices, restaurants and other commercial establishments, builders and housekeeping facilities. We were fortunate to receive their complete support to execute an ambitious project like this.

As a project that is so reliant on the workforce; composting of every 250Kg of wet waste led to the generation of one job. Dedicated to making India a cleaner and healthier nation, Alag Karo aims to improve livelihoods and enhance the basic hygiene level amongst the citizens of our country. We aim to do so by creating awareness and sensitization, and more importantly, by leading by example.

What took shape as a simple idea; has now spread wings and become one of the most significant eco-friendly endeavors our society has observed. With the help of a well-structured execution plan, Alag Karo has not only managed to fulfil its primary objective, of introducing new waste segregation practices.

The program has also ignited a spirit of collectivism and environmental sensitization amongst the communities it dealt with carefully. Although currently centered in Gurugram, we envision to expand this program to more parts of the country and guide the whole nation towards the path of progress and teach people how to co-exist with nature.

If the story resonates with you, please share

Impact-Story is a series on development and CSR interventions leading to some impacts on the ground. If you have a project, innovation or intervention that has changed the lives of a few people or a community, please share a brief note at csr@ngobox.org. Our Team will get back to you after validating the information for a detailed coverage.