Planning education to care for the earth - IUCN Knowledge Network

Urban issues through environmental educationMany people in India are already putting away newspapers, milk and othersachets, bottles, broken plastic and metal items which are bought by itinerantwaste collectors who pay on the basis of the weight of material collected. Aswell, ragpickers, usually the most destitute and children, who pickrecyclables directly from roadside bins or dumpsites are being trained forhouse to house collection of organic waste. In return, they receive paymentfrom these households for collecting organic matter, recyclables and soiledwaste in a segregated manner. They sell the recyclables to agents or retailtraders while the soiled and toxic wastes are thrown into garbage binsprovided by the Bangalore City Corporation (BCC) for safe disposal. Asystem of collection using tricycles and at the same time motivating citizensin monitoring garbage disposal in their area helps to run the programmeproperly and make it sustainable.Materials were designed for the training, on the one hand of Corporationworkers and street sweepers on the collection of garbage, separation ofsanitary and hazardous waste, careful handling and disposal, and theharmfulness of burning, and on the other of rag pickers. The topics for thelatter included the collection of recyclable materials from houses, theavoidance of littering, health problems associated with picking fromgarbage bins, the composting of organic matter and the carrying of garbagebags.The volunteer communicators were trained to use these materials. Aprogramme schedule and methods of communication were worked out for awide variety of target groups: shopkeepers, restaurant workers, clinic andhospital employees, domestic servants, housewives, corporation workers,street sweepers, rag pickers, youth and children.Radio, TV and other media were persuaded to run educational programmesand campaigns. The strategy provided for volunteers from service clubs,voluntary organizations and educational institutions to be trained to conductprogrammes in nursery plant raising, planting out and composting.Meanwhile, on the official side, a regular system of collection by category ofwaste, and transport for composting or incineration was established. Therewas interaction with farmers close to the city to pick up non-hazardousorganic and compostable waste with their own carts, and support was givento the existing informal system of transport of garbage to farmers.In the campaign, lasting seven to ten days, different teams of volunteersapproached the various target groups to convey the importance of theobjectives and to motivate the people to act, using the educational materialscreated for the purpose (posters, brochures, pamphlets, booklets, banners,radio, and TV advertising). A first aim was to establish citizens’ forums tosupervise the segregation and collection of garbage and to organize litter-freedrives.Feedback on the strategy came from three directions. In the first place,corporation workers and officials commented on the viability and feasibilityof the system. (The health supervisor in each district would coordinate andensure cooperation among the Corporation staff and between them and the61