Waste No More

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SECTION 6.1

Raising awareness

Influencing behavior towards waste management

India produces 62 million tons of solid waste every year, but only 75–80% of municipal solid waste gets collected and only 22–28% waste is processed and responsibly disposed off, according to the MoEFCC. This number can be a lot higher if the waste is segregated at source, before its disposal.

Source segregation is the first and the most important step to solve the problem. All the waste management interventions or solutions are futile if there is lack of segregation of waste at source

Target of your IEC programme

Households

Businesses

Institutes

Municipal officials

Elected representatives

Schools

Residential welfare associations

Informal sector

Rule of thumb

The most impactful and efficient way to close the loop on waste is to start by segregating waste at source before disposing it. Separating waste into two streams – wet waste and dry waste (hazardous waste including Covid-19 related waste but must be wrapped in a paper and marked with a cross before disposal) would lead to more recycling and less waste ending up in landfills.

SECTION 6.2​

Awareness campaign
for communities

Scope of work for launching IEC campaign

Understand current scenario
Act by taking Correction Action
Sustain momentum
Recruit more citizens for scale

Plan of action

Partnership with local NGOs, for on-ground implementation and engagement activities is advisable as they can use their existing local network for outreach to bulk generators/ housing societies management teams and on-ground activity for organising and executing community engagement events.

Waste No More Campaign Steps

Macro and Micro surveys

Change in daily operation

Awareness Campaign for residents & youth

Awareness campaign and activities through on-ground or digital channels for improving knowlege, attitude and perception in
Residents through
Youth & Community through

Continuous engagement

Streamlined pickups

IEC Collaterals

Community Activities

Awareness Flyers & Posters 

SECTION 6.3​​

Case studies

1. Sort Karo- an end to end awareness campaign

The Sort Karo initiative, led by Xynteo in collaboration with MCGM and Raddi-Connect, was set up with the aim of creating awareness and improving waste segregation for households. This would help households manage their waste responsibly, and ultimately contribute to solving the waste crisis and create a circular economy. The initiative was launched on the 5th June 2019 in R North ward, Dahisar West, Mumbai, targeting 2,000 households.

2. Waste no more-a digital curriculum for school children

Children are powerful changemakers, drivers of behavioural change and the consumers of the future. Waste No More (WNM) is an interactive digital curriculum to teach children about waste and the importance of waste segregation, inspiring them to become agents of change in their communities. It uses storytelling, class activities and easy to do at home games, to encourage children and their families to be responsible consumers.

The curriculum follows the journey of Plasto, Rani and Raj who are on a mission to clean up India and learn about waste management along the way.

The WNM kit comprises of 4 units of 12 animated videos, 16 grade-specific activity worksheets, and 1 teacher training- self-learning guide. Available in 3 languages: English, Marathi, and Hindi on DIKSHA website and App and YouTube.

SECTION 6.4​

Learning and Insights

To drive sustainable behaviour change and effective IEC campaign should target two critical stakeholders:

Safai saathis & House-helps

It is important to do on-ground training focusing on health and safety and importance of segregation

Community (Residents, ALMs, Housing Societies) & Youth

It is important to drive a community effect for widespread outreach and action

Key Observations

Residents and Youth


  •    They are aware of source segregation and would like to participate in it

  •    They believe the source segregation is futile if the infrastructure is not in place for ensuring waste is not mixed once it leaves their homes

  •    They are willing to train their house-helps and house members on segregation

  •    They are motivated by social nudges for participation in waste segregation

  •    They have not received proper training on segregation in the past

  •    They are troubled by poor segregation of hazardous waste and unsanitary conditions

  •    They are willing to train their house-helps and house members on segregation

  •    They segregate waste into high and low value materials during source segregation for the economic benefits of high value plastic

Key Insights

For an effective campaign that ensure direct (and indirect) engagement for all stakeholders and results in wide spread out reach and familiarity a good mix of ATL (above the line) and BTL (below the line) activities are needed.

Chapter Checklist

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