Ever since I arrived in India I’ve contemplated pursuing a career in waste management. Business would be booming and cleaning up these streets would be immensely satisfying. If it were only that easy….
The notion of recycling is a distant dream that foreigners fix upon. Every time a new intern arrives, within the first 6 hours, without fail, they ask “where is the recycling bin”. We respond with a laugh, knowing it isn't the least bit funny.
Garbage is over flowing in the streets and homes, which is absolutely disgusting until it becomes the new normal and you learn to ignore it. Communities create impromptu landfills to compensate for the extensive amount of waste… which double as landmarks on the ride home from work. Those fortunate enough to live near a river have a moving conveyer belt to dispose of their garbage.
Due to overpopulation, proper land for landfills is scarce. With little funding from the government for waste disposal and inefficient current waste management – an effective solution is far from being implemented. It doesn’t help that the practice of recycling, composting or simply not littering are novel behaviors to the majority.
During a day of touring I have to fight the convenience of contributing to the visible problem. I’ve held onto plastic wrappers and empty water bottles for quite sometime, searching for an appropriate place to dispose of them (this can take a lot longer than expected). I once witnessed a friend placing a banana peel at the base of a tree in an attempt to feel better for littering in a public area.
Call me crazy but I miss the satisfaction of placing plastic with plastic, paper with paper and composting my table scraps.
I'll continue to do my best while I'm here, but - oh how I miss recycling...
The notion of recycling is a distant dream that foreigners fix upon. Every time a new intern arrives, within the first 6 hours, without fail, they ask “where is the recycling bin”. We respond with a laugh, knowing it isn't the least bit funny.
Garbage is over flowing in the streets and homes, which is absolutely disgusting until it becomes the new normal and you learn to ignore it. Communities create impromptu landfills to compensate for the extensive amount of waste… which double as landmarks on the ride home from work. Those fortunate enough to live near a river have a moving conveyer belt to dispose of their garbage.
 |
| The pile of garbage I pass on the ride home from work |
During a day of touring I have to fight the convenience of contributing to the visible problem. I’ve held onto plastic wrappers and empty water bottles for quite sometime, searching for an appropriate place to dispose of them (this can take a lot longer than expected). I once witnessed a friend placing a banana peel at the base of a tree in an attempt to feel better for littering in a public area.
 |
| A pile of garbage near where I work |
Call me crazy but I miss the satisfaction of placing plastic with plastic, paper with paper and composting my table scraps.
I'll continue to do my best while I'm here, but - oh how I miss recycling...
No comments:
Post a Comment