Author: Tanmayee NarendraWhat does it mean to be “educated”? Does education necessarily mean a more heightened awareness about one’s role in society?These are some questions that I was forced to ask myself after I met with John, the manager of the Dry Waste Collection Center (DWCC) near the Jayadeva Flyover. Let me tell you more about John. John comes from a family of scrap dealers. While thoughts of garbage generally trigger images of filth and refuse for most of us, the same object is a source of income for him.Unless it’s about broken roads, broken water pipes or about broken governance. At Citizen Matters we report about issues that matter to our everyday quality of life. We need your support to keep us going. Please donate now!John at his Dry Waste Collection Centre. Pic: Sieta Van HorckHis grandfather forayed into scrap dealing in 1960, when Bangalore was still relatively small. His grandfather used to go around the city on foot and handpick valuable trash. His father improved on this and bought himself an auto to collect waste. Now, he has enhanced his situation further by becoming the manager of a DWCC. He has a certificate to say that he has been trained to manage a DWCC, and he only recently passed the SSLC 10th standard exam. He calls himself ‘uneducated’. John doesn’t consider himself a businessman, and isn’t in the scrap business for money. He himself admitted that since the DWCC doesn’t receive enough quantities of high value waste, he doesn’t cover the monthly expenses of running it. Curiously, this doesn’t seem to bother him a lot. Instead, John calls himself a social worker and thinks of his work as a service to society. John was firmly convinced that if every citizen in Bangalore segregated their waste, garbage disposal wouldn’t be the problem that it is. “Today, we send our waste to landfills, dump everything into a hole and cover it up. We don’t deal with it the way we should. Maybe we can continue doing this in my lifetime. But what about my children and grandchildren? They won’t have any more places to dump their waste, and they have to bear the brunt of our actions,” he said. A few bulk waste generators give their waste to John, and this waste is not segregated. When he tells them that segregation is very important if waste is to be recycled, they don’t listen to him, because, as John puts it, “in their eyes, I’m only just an uneducated waste dealer.” John with the team. Pic: Sieta Van HorckJohn believes that DWCCs are a great way to make citizens more aware of the waste they generate. The landfill is like a black box—unsegregated waste is dumped there, and everyone, except the people who live near the landfill, are conveniently unaware of the repercussions of this unsustainable practice. If DWCCs are present in every ward, the citizens who live in that ward will be forced to come to terms with waste disposal, and the need to take some proactive action (segregation, perhaps?) to ensure its sustainability. After this discussion with John, we started walking on the footpath to catch an auto. A man in a business suit nonchalantly chucked his used juice carton onto the footpath.Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * document.getElementById(“comment”).setAttribute( “id”, “a56b2c61bd17f4aff34397a2271a5951” );document.getElementById(“gca316ff10”).setAttribute( “id”, “comment” );Name * Email * Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Once a “city of lakes,” Thane’s population has roughly increased sevenfold since 1971. The city’s estimated population has crossed 27 lakh, making it one of the most densely populated cities in the country. As its population surges, new construction rises at a feverish pace, and infrastructure projects are announced with clockwork regularity. By all outward appearances, Thane is a city on the move. But the question to ask is: Is it moving in a better direction? Sadly, it is not. I am a fourth-generation resident of this city. I grew up here and watched the city transform and lose something…Every year, as the north-eastern monsoon approaches, residents in Chennai are on high alert, fearing a deluge. The memories of the 2015 floods, the aftermath of Cyclone Michaung in 2023 and annual flooding continue to haunt citizens even as they head to vote this April.  The Chennai City Municipal Corporation Act, 1919 points out that the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) must provide and maintain a sufficient system of public drains throughout the city. Recently, the GCC claimed that 88% of stormwater drain (SWD) works have been finished and that ₹6,475 crore was spent over four years on this. This covers 1,235…For reading Citizen Matters, of course. It would be fantastic to be able to thank you for supporting us as well.For 15 years we have strived to bring you credible, useful and actionable information about our cities. So every citizen has the power to build a better city. Support our work today.Explore the latest stories from Citizen Matters offering insightful reports, ideas and solutions on the everyday issues that affect us all. Discover our other programmes, including datajams, solutions workshops, masterclasses, and webinars, designed to help you learn, engage and drive meaningful change in your community.Click here to subscribe 👉Civic media with insightful reports, ideas and solutions for better citiesSubscribe to our newsletter! Sign up here.A Programme of