Fruit to FruitMaking waste sustainable in Mumbai

Fruit to FruitMaking waste sustainable in Mumbai

Sanika PalkarLondon College of Communication (UAL) November, 2012

The Problem

Summary

Mumbai is a vibrant melting pot - India’s New York, some call it. Cosmopolitan, upwardly-mobile, ostensibly aspirational, ambitious and also unfortunately bursting at the seams with garbage. To many it may seem like a bewildering mix of people from all income groups - the super rich (many of India’s new billionaires are based there) rub shoulders with Mumbai’s teaming millions (one in two people in the city live in slums). And then there are millions of others who call themselves “middle-class”. For everyone who lives there - the money they make dictates how they behave and what kind of lifestyles they enjoy. Not surprisingly, they have a vast difference in how they manage their homes and waste. The middle class has the luxury of employing domestic help to do household chores and mostly live in apartment blocks, the working class is not so fortunate and the poor live on margins, without proper housing. While there are differences in how they live what remains the same is the method of storing and disposing their household waste. Among all domestic cleaning chores (that include: doing the dishes, sweeping and mopping the floor, laundry, general maintenance and other innumerable tasks) waste management remains a visible and mostly unresolved area that directly affects cleanliness and hygiene inside and outside the house. There is a distinct lack of awareness among even educated residents about the direct connection between how domestic waste contributes to the alarming amount of garbage that goes to landfills/ dumping grounds. The total amount of garbage (required to be collected and deposited at dumping grounds) is increasing every year. And that’s why there is a crying need to manage waste effectively - ideally recycling most of it at the individual level. The challenge lies however, in encouraging people to think before they throw their garbage away. In this project data has been collated and analysed to find a sustainable service solution to manage waste - at an individual and community level.

Littered Streets

garbage collectors

transport of wasteto the landfills

storage before municipal collection

householdsstorage of waste in homes

Current Process

RagpickersSell recyclable material to bhangarwalahs to earn a living

BhangarwalahsRubbish collectors

whole salers

households

recyclingcompanies

Bhangarwalahsa unique link in the recycle chain

ragpickers bhangarwalahs

Storage of waste

Composition of the wastebasket - Home cooking

Composition of the wastebasket - Findings

Other Research

Amrit Mitti (compost)from dry leaves

that is tastier, abundantand unadulterated

they accept wet waste from enthusiasts,but they are concentrating on making the baseof a good compost. If wet waste is added, it wouldfurther enhance the quality of the soil.

Urban Leaves (NGO)

Composting - Different Methods

The pots should look elegant,it shouldn’t be obvious that itis a compost.

Maid - known as ‘Bai’

Persona 1

Mon Tue Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun

Awarenesswhen people get to seewhat they can get,something like fresh producethey find faith behind the concept

Persona 2

I have tried composting but it smells.If it is done in societies, someone has to be present to take care of it.I will definitely segregate waste,as long as the service is not too expensive and if it helps the environment we live in. Plus if it yields fresher unadulteratedproduce, I would be assured that myefforts are fruitful.

She is very appreciative of her bai of 25 years,to have built a houseon her own steam, andacknowledges thesheltered life she grewup in compared to theirhardships.

Persona 3

Prototype 1 - Readiness to SegregateThe tool

Prototype 1Duration: 5 DAYS

Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5

Prototype 1 4 days of collection

Prototype 1 - The result12 kilo wet waste, 2 kilo dry waste

Prototype 2Determining the ideal compost location

Communal Compost Beds

Individual Compost Bin

Terrace Compost Bed

Communal Composting Bed

Individual Composting Bin

Terrace Composting Bed

Prototype 2The tools

Prototype 2 - FeedbackReaching the end user

Communal Compost Beds

Individual Compost Bin

Terrace Compost Bed

very few

Prototype 2The result

Opportunities, Stakeholders and Interventions

A few changes would greatly enhance the current system. These are: segregation (of waste), better storage facilities, locations earmarked for composting, making compost available to farmers and a way to get their produce back to the market. For this to happen, the model will have to be re-invented. Some important new condition could be: access to public space for creating composting lands, support from the government, educated garbage collectors, co-operation from farmers, and most importantly support from the community. But who are the stakeholders? Householders, garbage collectors, bhangarwalahs, local authorities, government, farmers, corporate houses, local businesses – all these could be involved in creating a new system that would be mutually beneficial. The new model holds truly exciting possible outcomes. Three of these are:1. After the waste is segregated at homes, it would be carried to the composting grounds, where it would generate rich soil. This could be transported to farmers in rural areas close to Mumbai. This will help them grow better produce.2. Once segregated, the wet waste would be sent to processing plants where it could generate power.3. Post segregation and the composting, the rich soil generated would be made available to the municipal corporation of Mumbai, for developing city gardens and beautifying public spaces.

StakeholdersPossibile links between them

householders

volunteers

corporate housesbhangarwalahs

farmers

garbage collectors

generates power 2 beautiful city 3

garbage collectionand transporthouseholds

composting

compost farmers

great producein the markets 1

3 Benefitting Outcomes

StoryboardingService Outcome - A pilot system

9

REC

10 11 12

1 2 3 4

7 85 6

housing society garbage collectors house to house collection managing waste

waste to compost process of composting continues the dry waste is sold for recycling

reward - money From The Waste the pilot process is documented presented to local authorities people in the housing are happy

A sustainable loopFrom fruit to fruit