This week I had the pleasure of accompanying one of our CAT members, Georgina on one of her weekly teaching escapades in the Mumbai suburbs. We took the train to SMPR, a small English medium school in Mulund, where I observed her two-hour session with the children.

This session was not only a learning experience for the children, but for me as well - she talked about the cities problems regarding waste and also highlighted ways in which we as concerned citizens can contribute to solving them.

Mumbai is India’s largest metropolis with a fast growing population. As the number of people increases, so too does the city’s waste (currently around 7000 tons per day). The city’s main dumping site at Deonar has reached its full capacity and is in the process of being closed! We all know that Mumbai suffers from a shortage of space, and this problem encompasses space for waste disposal as well. As a result, new dumping sites such as one at Kanjurmarg are being developed- on our precious mangrove forests!

Therefore it is our responsibility to help manage and reduce our waste production. Two easy ways in which we can contribute are:

-Segregating domestic waste

-Composting waste

By segregating wastes at home, we are ensuring that the dry waste can be easily removed and recycled. Composting too helps reduce the amount of waste that goes into the dumping sites, as organic waste is disposed of at home itself.

When asked, only about 3 of the 30 children said they segregate their waste. Yes, segregating waste in a city like Mumbai is hard to do, but it is this civic sense that I could see Georgina trying to inculcate in the children.

“My mother won't allow me to" one child said. Possibly, he was just coming up with an excuse to argue with the teacher. Even still his excuse shows us that lack of awareness in India is not only limited to the youth, but spans all generations. As members of the CAT team, we hope that the ideas we spread to the children are further spread by them to their parents, creating a sort of multiplier effect.

Small success stories such as when a young boy comes up to you at the end of the session saying how much he enjoyed the activity, or when a little girl shows you the Christmas cards she made out of recycled paper-taking so much pride in the fact that it was recycled paper-are what really lets us know that our message is being spread.

- Sia Khandelwal (Intern at CAT office)