Problem Statement:

Garbage is not being disposed properly by the Community or by the Government.

Location:

Garbage collection bins located outside the apartment blocks and on the streets.

Transcripts of Interviews with affected Residents:

Interview 1 :

Name : Mrs. Nirmala

Age : 71 Years

Background : Resident of the area for the last 20 years.

Occupation : Housewife

Gender : Female

• How does the garbage affect you?
  • I feel that all the garbage lying on the road is very unhygienic and attracts many pests and rodents.
• Why do you think people don’t dispose of the garbage properly, has it got to do with their mindsets or is it because the government hasn’t provided proper facilities?
  • People don’t care about where the garbage lands, they just throw it and walk off not worrying about it later.
• Would it help if the community was given awareness about waste segregation?
  • Waste segregation will definitely help in this situation as people will have more knowledge on how to dispose of their household waste.
• Was waste ever disposed of properly in the past in this area?
  • This area was never clean. Even 20 years back.
• This place has been cleaned many times before. Even after that, though the people are affected by it, they still throw garbage outside the bin. What do you feel about this? Why do you think they do it?
  • There have been efforts to clean this area however only the garbage in the bins were cleared and the garbage on the road was allowed to pile up.
  • People want change but they aren’t willing to take up the initiative.
  • People are not concerned about community problems as it doesn’t affect them directly.
• If you had the option of segregating and reducing the amount of waste produced at your residence, would you be interested in doing so?
  • Yes

Interview 2:

Name : Mr. Murali

Age : 71 Years

Background : Resident of the area for the last 20 years.

Occupation : Retired Professional

Gender : Male

• How does the garbage affect you?
  • I feel that the piles of garbage spoils the image of the community and affects health and mosquitoes are also breeding.
• Why do you think people don’t dispose of the garbage properly, has it got to do with their mindsets or is it because the government hasn’t provided proper facilities?
  • People are not disciplined and they throw the garbage on the road even when the dustbin was intact.
• Would it help if the community was given awareness about waste segregation?
  • Yes awareness of waste segregation can cause this problem to eventually subside.
• Was waste ever disposed of properly in the past in this area?
  • Even 20 years back the situation was the same.
• This place has been cleaned many times before. Even after that, though the people are affected by it, they still throw garbage outside the bin. What do you feel about this? Why do you think they do it?
  • We have been contacting the counsellor about this and also talking to corporation officials, yet no one has done anything.
  • The bin is not directly in front of their home so they don’t care.
• If you had the option of segregating and reducing the amount of waste produced at your residence, would you be interested in doing so?
  • Yes we would like to segregate and reduce waste produced from his house.

Interview 3:

Name : Mr. Ganesh

Age : 40 Years

Background : Resident of the area for the last 15 years.

Occupation : Banker

Gender : Male

• How does the garbage affect you?
  • The garbage overflows and gives a very foul smell, also many pests come into our house.
• Why do you think people don’t dispose of the garbage properly, has it got to do with their mindsets or is it because the government hasn’t provided proper facilities?
  • The corporation also doesn’t make sure the bin is cleaned at regular intervals also the residents don’t put the waste in a place where it is supposed to go. It should be a mutual effort, after all you need two hands to clap.
• Would it help if the community was given awareness about waste segregation?
  • Awareness programs can be conducted to show that segregation is very important in the proper disposal of the waste and will also encourage them to not just keep their houses clean but also their surroundings.
• Was waste ever disposed of properly in the past in this area?
  • Even when I came here fifteen years back, it was the same.
• This place has been cleaned many times before. Even after that, though the people are affected by it, they still throw garbage outside the bin. What do you feel about this? Why do you think they do it?
  • Yes, we have contacted many people to get the places cleaned but either no one comes or they clean it and then don’t come regularly to clean the waste.
• If you had the option of segregating and reducing the amount of waste produced at your residence, would you be interested in doing so?
  • People only care about themselves and not their surrounding community as it doesn’t affect them directly.

Interview 4:

Name : Mr. Srinivasan

Age : 45 Years

Occupation : Consultant, Waste Management for Industries

• How can the problem of waste management and garbage disposal be solved ?
  • Segregation at source is a very important tool in proper garbage disposal and waste management.
  • Involvement of community and the Government is managing the garbage is another solution.
• How can we implement and make sure it is followed?
  • Awareness programs for all the people to change their mindsets is necessary.
  • Programs like the Prime Ministers Swach Bharat Campaign have to be implemented by all the local bodies and Governments.
  • Increasing the capacity of the garbage bins depending upon the residents in that area will ensure that there is no overflow.
• What do you, being an expert, feel causes this problem?
  • Awareness of the people and the Government about the long term effects of garbage is very low.
  • It is a dirty job and everyone wants to points fingers at the others to do it. People should first understand that it is their problem and they are responsible for it.
• Can you tell us the steps we can take towards solving this problem?
  • Awareness programs.
  • Clean up drives.
  • Door to door campaigns.
  • Waste segregation
  • Composting to reduce bio waste
  • Recycling and reuse.
  • Changes in Government administration by having a separate cell for addressing citizen complaints .
  • There are many more steps that can be taken but we can start with the above .