What Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 should be like?

While the mission got people talking about sanitation and cleanliness, its implementation needs a lot of work

Temple and open defecation: Shifting narratives of sacred and profane

How did people of Karnataka’s Berambadi village strategically redefine the nature of open defecation spaces?

Rewind 2018: How India dealt with its waste

India has policies to deal with all kinds of waste but implementation is weak and not monitored effectively

A burning question

Waste-to-energy plants are being touted as a wonder solution for garbage management. But how feasible is this option?

Guidelines for medical waste

Cutting the Gordian knot: Norway’s initiative to combat global plastic jeopardy

The Scandinavian country proposes stronger control of international trade in plastic wastes at the 14th Conference of the Parties to the Basel …

Rethinking waste management: Improving governance in India’s North East

Nearly 85% of the waste in the North East is unceremoniously dumped without processing and treatment  

Potato peel, fruit waste turned into packaging material

Scientists at the Tezpur University in Assam have made thin biopolymer films from potato peels and fruit waste to store food items

States now aspire to get ODF plus tag

Here’s a status update on how certain states are trying to promote holistic cleanliness

Hope or hype?

Guarded optimism greets new biomedical waste treatment facility near Kanpur

Where will segregated waste go? Cities are clueless

A country-wide waste segregation campaign also needs to be backed up by a plan for treatment and processing

The first International Day of Zero Waste: UN draws focus on myriad impacts of garbage

By treating nature like a dumping ground, we are digging our own graves, says UN chief António Guterres

Toxic ignorance: Most Indian cities way off segregating domestic hazardous waste

In absence of robust framework and infrastructure, segregation of domestic hazardous waste remains a distant dream for most Indian cities

Swachh Survekshan 2018: Indore and Bhopal win it again; Jharkhand moves ahead 

Panaji, which emerged as the best innovator in the West Zone, was recognised by the Centre for Science and Environment in 2016 as one of the …

Waste not the dissent

For so long we have used backyards of our cities as dumping grounds, but people in poor neighbourhoods are saying enough is enough

Ten zero-waste cities: Community participation worked wonders for San Fernando

The whole community played an integral role in making the implementation of the zero-waste programme city-wide, a success

Is waste on the govt’s mind?

The new government will need to prioritise this in the coming years, otherwise we will run out of resources, poison our environment and have …

Mobile app shows users the hazards of e-waste

Consumer demand for the 'next big thing' and ready supply by electronic companies are the primary causes behind e-waste generation

Ten zero-waste cities: How Taguig in the Philippines became clean

Down To Earth profiles ten cities across the globe which have got rid of their waste problem using the ‘zero waste model’

A first-of-a-kind campaign in Pune creates awareness about sanitary waste segregation

The Red Dot Campaign by SWaCH cooperative is sensitising people about the importance of proper handling and disposal of sanitary waste

Over 25,000 tonnes of COVID-19 plastic waste entered oceans in a year

Significant portion of this ocean plastic debris is expected to make its way onto beaches or seabed within 3-4 years, flags study

Zero waste systems can create thousands of jobs across world: Study

Reuse creates over 200 times as many jobs as landfills and incinerators; recycling around 70 times more 

Old Manila eco-market: Building zero-waste communities

The Old Manila Eco Market is a zero-waste weekend market that showcases locally sourced products and promotes eco-friendly lifestyles 

Treasure in your trash

Local authorities in Delhi can use imaginative by-laws to clean up the city

Households must be rewarded on segregating waste and collectors, both formal and informal, should be trained