Updates! First some housecleaning updates – If you are following my‪ #‎OnePiece‬ project, I will now be updating those exclusively on my twitter page. I’m up to #17 so you can go check out what you’ve missed on Twitter @DHCH_Project .

Second – I have finalized all the individuals and organizations I will be speaking with while in India and have confirmed interview and meeting dates with all of them! =) The full list of those willing to generously spend their time with me during my visit is:

Just a quick update:

For those of you interested in following the #OnePiece  Photo Project, I’ll only be updating those on my twitter account (@DHCH_Project) from here on out. I’ll be reserving the blog space for longer, in-depth articles.

-Ashley

We’re still shacking up in a hotel while we wait for all our worldly possession to find their way to the  Bay Area, but until then I decided there was no reason why I couldn’t start back up with the #OnePiece photo project.

My initial impression of the Bay area is that it is by and large well taken care of in terms of litter and waste management. However, even here, with the high population density, there are areas that are a bit neglected or forgotten. Our hotel is in a business park and on a stroll today around the area I saw only two trash bins which were full already. I walked down a scenic lane with hedges and trees on both sides. From far away these look lovely:

But as I walked down this lane I noticed far too many pieces of litter tucked under and even IN the hedges. Some of it can be blamed on the wind, but a lot of it had to be purposely placed their by other pedestrians who just didn’t want to hold onto their trash until they could reach a trash bin:

On one level, I can understand that an area is bound to be more littered if there is no place to put that litter. On the other hand, I don’t know why it’s so hard to hold onto the trash you make until you can get home at least.

We’re in this hotel for another 9 days and I may just informally adopt this little section of my walk and clean it up. I think a year ago this sort of thing would have gone right past me and I wouldn’t have even thought about it. So I can appreciate why it can go unnoticed.

Now that we’re in the Bay Area I was thinking about starting a social club that’s based around cleaning small areas of the city that seem to be neglected. I’m inspired by groups like Bunch of Fools and similar groups in India that have sprung up all over the place to fill the gaps left by municipalities.

My itinerary is slowly coming together for my trip in September. The project has grown much larger than I initially anticipated, with many individuals and NGO’s graciously agreeing to meet with me during my two month stay.

Initially, I had planned to keep the focus narrow – I only planned to speak with contacts located in the New Delhi area. This was to keep myself from getting too scattered and maintain focus. I figured this would be the first of many trips, so I should start smaller and work toward a broader focus.

However, as the goal of my initiative has evolved and my understanding deepened, it became clear that I couldn’t go all the way to India for two months and only explore the waste management challenges that existed in Delhi, because the story varies thought the country and so many people from different places have offered to help me understand the complexities of these issues.

So, after giving it a lot of thought, I decided to expand my original itinerary to include locations in Southern India as well as Mumbai and Pune. Below you can see a graphic of the planned itinerary as it stands now.

On Sunday night I will be speaking with a representative from Hasiru Dala in Bangalore. I am eager to learn from their experiences.

It may have been quiet around this blog for over a month but I’m hoping to update you all soon on all the work I’ve been doing behind the scenes over the last few weeks in preparation for my trip to India.

So what’s been the hold up? Since my last entry I’ve been balancing my study with a lot of  local volunteer work. It’s related to my work as an Illustrator and Designer and I had a lot of long nights and short deadlines to meet. While I continue to do my #OnePiece work with every walk around the neighborhood, I have neglected to take my camera with me. I plan to restart that soon.

Also, in other art related news, I had to re-photograph about 30 paintings because I misplaced the SD card with the original photos. (Several back-ups have been established this time around!)

The big update delay is actually due to the fact that my husband accepted a new job in California and we’ve been running around like crazy trying to take care of things around here before we leave. It’s a lot of organizing, donating, and throwing out we have to do. Luckily we’ve found homes for a lot of the things we can’t take with us. We also have to prep the cats for their first ever flight, which has meant getting all kinds of health checks, and special paperwork.

I have a few articles as well as a 400 page doctorate thesis to finish reading and review here, so realistically, with our expected move date being somewhere around the 17th or 18th, a new update might not be in store until the end of June. However, if I can get the reading done before that in between move related errands I will.

Things I have been doing that are related to my research are: keeping tabs on NGOs and Waste Management Professionals via Twitter and Facebook, reading about their projects, accomplishments and challenges. I’ve also been slowly filling in my interview schedule for my trip to India. While I tried to keep most of my work in the Northern cities of Delhi and Varanasi I’ve met so many amazing individuals in the south that I will be a lot more cross country travel than I originally anticipated.

Thank you all for your patience while we finish our move. There’s definitely more to come here, so stay tuned!

As if it wasn’t bad enough that Marlboro makes a product that literally gives you cancer, the left over butts litter the ground like delightful, carcinogenic confetti. (which would make a great band name). However, the cigarettes leftovers themselves are easy to ignore compared to the easily toss-able packages they come in. This was found about 50 feet from a dustbin, btw.

Before I continue writing about the individuals and organizations I’m making connections with in India to further my understanding of SWM practices, I had mentioned earlier my visit to the Lancaster Co. Waste-to-Energy plant (W2E) and I’d like to write down my experience and impressions from that visit.

Lancaster’s W2E plant is owned by LCSWMA  but was built and continues to be managed by Covanta Energy – a company that specializes in W2E solutions. They are currently operating facilities all over the world. The plant in Lancaster County takes mixed waste, runs it through an incinerator and uses the resulting steam to power a generator which provided electricity to over 20,000 Lancaster home in 2014. Ferrous and precious metals are separated from the resulting ash and transported to a recycling facility in York, PA. Ash is then taken from the facility to the Frey Farm Landfill where it is used as cover at the end of each day as required by law.

Our tour began with an explanation of the incineration process from initial dumping at the site through to the exhaust stack. They had a scale model that we could look at which was very useful for a visual person like me.

There were two things I was most interested in – How they dealt with toxic byproducts from burning, and how they kept ash from becoming airborne and polluting the surrounding the community; these being two factors that have shut down all but one mixed waste incinerator in India.

An engineer from Covanta explained that the resulting furans and dioxins (toxic substances) from the burning are treated with other elements and substances like ammonia, which result in a chemical reaction that neutralizes them. After this, they are still run through a series of filters before being expelled through the smoke stack. According to the chief engineer this particular site functions well below the recommended limit for toxins set by the EPA.

After this introduction we were taken through the site to see what there was to see. Which, due to the nature of the facility, wasn’t much. Most of the machinery is enclosed. We did get to see the enormous claw and crane that moves the raw trash from the dumping station to the three operating chutes that run to the incinerators. We were taken to the control room, which looked like a scene from some old B-SciFi movie. (Walls covered in blinking lights and computer screens measuring things I didn’t understand but sure looked important 😉 )

We then went to the tail end of the process in a large warehouse and watched as ash fell from a mechanical belt to piles on the ground where they would be picked up by trucks at the end of the day and transported to the landfill. It was a rainy day outside but I was still struck by the fact that we needed no face masks to walk around the sight or in any of the buildings (Although ear plugs were necessary for noise levels).  I expected more particulate in the air. I asked our engineer about this. He explained that the ash was kept at 20% moisture at all times — treated throughout the process with steam and water. I then asked if the ash ever got into the air in large quantities. He said absolutely, but very rarely and they take great pains to make sure it doesn’t happen. If it does they make sure the communities that would be most affected are informed.

This was, in a way, an answer to a question I had had about the incinerators in India. Their chief problem was that they expelled so much ash into the air that it created a thin layer that covered everything within a certain radius of the plants. So either they didn’t treat their ash with moisture, didn’t have appropriate filtering practices or both.

He then discussed the issue of cost of running the facility. W2E plants are very popular but there are relatively few in the US to serve the number of communities in need. The reason being is that the cost of initially building such a facility is quite high and it can take a long time to recoup the costs. Certainly if cost is an issue with the US, it would be even more so in India. However, there is definitely a need in India for such facilities and certainly enough waste to see a profitable market for a company willing to take the initial risk.

I can see how the W2E plant could be an important piece of an integrated waste management system, though much like the Frey Farm Landfill, a dedicated management staff, as well as meticulous attention to regulations (that can often be costly to follow) is absolutely necessary. A poorly managed incinerator is going to create more pollution problems than it solves. Run correctly, the benefits are enormous.

My intention now is to do more reading on Covanta and then contact them to ask if they have any operations in India or any plans to, and if not, ask why.

-Ashley

You know summer is on its way when you see these floating around. I used to love these “stick pops” as a kid. Tongue staining goodness. I can’t recall a single flavor, but my favorite was “red”. Enjoy responsibly, kids – throw out the packaging.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSPFimLfQL8

A few days ago I had the pleasure of speaking with a gentleman named Satish about his NGO, ‘Bunch of Fools’. Right from the outset, the name alone implies a wonderful optimism that appeals to me. Certainly, despite the challenges his organization faces, Satish sounds like there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about waste management in India.

This group of about 100 regular volunteers takes to the streets of Raipur in order to tackle litter, informal dumping grounds as well as to beautify run down and unloved walls and curbs.

Don’t let the informal nature of the work fool you (pun intended), these ‘Fools’ are highly organized with different teams in charge of various activities such as street cleaning, painting, R&D, education and public relations.

In addition to that, probably the most important work the group does involves educating locals about the importance of cleanliness in their community.  They organize a street team each Sunday to speak to people directly about their concerns, answer questions and in general get a sense of how people feel about their activities.

Satish says the reaction from both locals and officials has been overwhelming positive, and that while a few cynics still think they are crazy for even bothering to try, the majority of people stand behind their efforts. While municipal officials are supportive and offer help in the form of trash pick up, trucks and other equipment, they are limited by a lack of resources and infrastructure (More on that below) This is in contrast to most of my reading which suggested that NGOs and CBOs are constantly playing tug-of-war with municipal authorities in order to get financial and other support. This cooperative relationship could be particular to Raipur, or perhaps it is a problem in larger cities.

Satish claims that a dramatic shift in mentality has occurred in the minds of Indians over the last year and half to two years. I asked what the source of this change was, in his opinion.

PM Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan (Clean India Campaign) has inspired people to take control of the sanitation and waste in India. By connecting with the hearts of the people,  Modi has encouraged people to take an active role in improving their country.

When I asked about the biggest challenges India faces in terms of waste management, Satish’s answer was immediate, – Lack of Awareness and Infrastructure. His answer was reaffirming of what I have been reading,particularly in regards to Awareness. Without education, there is apathy, and if there is apathy, there is no change. It’s not enough to form many small, dedicated groups who clean their cities each day – they must engage the public in a dialogue about what solutions they want to see as well has how to get there, based on scientific knowledge of the negative effects of leaving things as they are, and the benefits to the every day person if he puts in just a little effort. Even if one cannot spare personal time to contribute to the cleanliness of a nation, just knowing the benefits and being educated will allow people to make more informed choices about who they support politically, so they can demand changes on a governmental level.

One particular aspect of the ‘Fool’s’ work I appreciate as an artist is the act of painting the spaces they clean so that they look more attractive. I think it transforms a mundane bus station that’s easy to take for granted and dump garbage in, and turns it into  a place worth caring for, if for nothing else than to continue to be able to enjoy the space.

Which brings me to another positive outcome of this kind of work. “Space Management”. Locations that were once used as dumping grounds, are transformed into playgrounds and parking spaces. Spaces once useless for anything utilitarian or recreational suddenly have new potential. Now everyone can enjoy a place that was once avoided for its smell and disease.

Also, notice that cow up there in the photo? Another benefit of keeping mixed garbage off the streets is it improves the lives of animals such as cows and dogs that go digging through the rubbish for food. 50 years ago, when most of the waste on the street was organic, this wouldn’t have been a problem, but now metal, broken glass and plastic are mixed in and this ends up in the stomachs of these animals and eventually kills them.

What seems to make ‘Bunch of Fools’ successful is their community education efforts which have lead to an almost unanimous support of the work they do. As awareness improves one hopes that policy changes will come, supported and called for by the locals themselves who have seen a glimpse of what a Clean India could be and can now visualize the bigger picture.

At the conclusion of the interview, Satish graciously offered to put me in contact with local authorities in Raipur during my visit in September and encouraged me to contact as many officials as I could. He also provided me with more R&D related information which is very useful for understanding the technical side of things. I will be spending time with the ‘Fools’ in India to better understand their challenges and victories as well as spend a few days hopefully helping them with a few of their cleaning campaigns. I’ll be there for Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday as well as the Swachh Bharat 2 year Anniversary, which I think is very fitting for my work.

If you would like to learn more about “Bunch of Fools” you can visit them at the website below:

http://bunchofools.com/wp/

All it takes is one piece of litter to remind you that it’s not just things you would expect that end up thrown away improperly. Sometimes perfectly useful items end up on the side of the road. It’s a reminder that much of the burden of waste comes from over consuming and discarding too soon. This is a dirty Tupperware lid I found on my walk. I must have missed it several times because it looks like it’s been in the dirt for a while. It came with a bonus piece of mystery rubber.