I quite like, that I wish to share about waste.

One major motivation for doing so is that I put into words, my account of experiences and thoughts, to revisit as and when.

Another is to share it with others. Places and instances mentioned might not seem relevant for most, but as social beings that we are, consumption or usage of materials is common to us all. When we’re done with something, the waste that we generate, we dispose wherever - however.

Because we don’t see the latter stages of waste handling and treatment – because we’re not used to thinking about it, we don’t know any better. And so we simply toss the trash in a bin and then on, the trash in the bin becomes someone else’s work or responsibility.

While there is money in waste and there may be many people working in this space- handling all that we throw away, maybe we can find ways to dispose a lot of items in ways that prevent harm to others.
Maybe we even find ways to simplify processes and avoid excess wastage.

If I remember correctly, I have wanted to write about waste since before I stepped into this space in academics and work. I have had questions that I have wondered about and have wanted to ask, but not known who to ask, when or how… Now, after spending some time in the waste sector, with the intention and motivation to continue learning and doing more in this space, I admit that I still have many questions that I don’t know who to ask. I believe that many people reading my posts have similar questions and habitually dismiss them as ‘silly’ questions since there appear to be no real avenues for finding solutions or answers to them.

I envision a way of life where individuals and communities engage in conversation regarding what waste is generated, share insights and raise questions that come to us. By writing here, I invite readers to do more than just take what I produce for you. I wish that you open up about what you want to understand more about, or share with me and through me, what you’d like other readers to know as well. Let’s explore some of these ‘silly’ questions together?

For the time being though, I leave you with a little bit about one of the terms I mentioned before, and a related exercise to think about.

Segregation at source, in solid waste management, refers to the act of separating generated waste on the basis of certain decided qualities of the materials, and doing so, just as the waste is being produced - at the time when it’s being thrown into bins in homes and offices. The degrees to which segregation can be done, can raise questions for all, even for really basic categories.

It helps to understand segregation at source as a system that factors in roughly 2-4 general categories: Dry waste, Wet waste, Household hazardous waste, and ‘Others’ for things that need to be separated from the rest, for some reason or the other. Definitions and more can be found online. We’ll dive deeper into them later.

I wouldn't go as far as saying that it's a very common problem to mix up what comes in wet and dry waste, but when the instruction is simply to choose between the two words Wet and Dry, with no real information about the steps taken for responsibly disposing and managing these items - it is problematic.

Below, I list about 30 items that are to be disposed in any of the three bins: Dry, Wet and Household hazardous. Assuming that these bins and this waste are found in the house you live in, you need to figure out how to dispose of each of them. Remember that there may or may not be straightforward methods for their disposal.

While there are going to be some obvious wrong answers, not everything is obvious in this exercise. I invite readers to share how they'll sort through these items.

Soiled diaper, Waste cloth used to wipe spilled food-stuff, Used batteries, An old CFL bulb, A plastic box holding leftovers from a week ago, Pencil shavings, Fingernail trimmings, Fallen hair, Dust and dirt that's been swept up, A paper bag holding a glass jar of old fruit pulp oozing out, Old can of paint, An empty toothpaste tube, A broken thermometer, An old notebook, Sanitary napkins, Expired medicines, Chocolate wrapper with melted chocolate in it, Old cables, A broken glass tumbler, Orange peel and seeds, An almost empty packet of milk, A sealed packet of onion slices and lemon, A used razor blade, Water-soaked tissue paper, A bottle of unfinished cold drink, Coconut shells, Bones from a non-veg dish, Old food wrapped in aluminum foil, Newspapers, A defective tape recorder and, teabags.

Please do share your thoughts and responses on the Linkedin post or in comments on this platform itself. If you're not comfortable sharing your responses publicly, you may message me on Linkedin as well.