Using careful research and a non-confrontational approach, the Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group (CAG) has had great success helping the city of Chennai develop safer waste disposal practices, especially for biomedical wastes.
Like most cities around the world, Chennai, the capital of India’s Tamil Nadu state, is struggling to safely dispose of its trash. Chennai produces 3,874 tons a day, and in the late 1990s it began developing plans for a waste-to-energy (WTE) plant. These facilities use energy from incineration of waste to create electricity. This waste, however, typically contains plastics, toxic metals and chlorinated compounds. When burned, these materials produce dioxins and a variety of substances that are believed to cause cancers and birth defects.
These plants also produce nitrogen oxides and other greenhouse gases that have significant local and global impact. The WTE technology proposed for the Chennai plant had been rejected in Australia and Delhi because its performance and environmental safety had not been proven sufficiently.
After completing its own research on the proposed plan, CAG found that the environmental and health costs far outweighed the benefits of producing energy using these WTE technologies. In November of 2001, CAG received a $2,000 grant from Greengrants to produce and distribute educational materials about the hazards of various incineration technologies. These materials included a booklet and posters on WTE and were produced in both English and Tamil, the regional language. CAG also coordinated informational workshops at the state and local level for citizens and policy makers.
As a result, in part, of CAG’s efforts, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board refused to approve the WTE plant in Chennai. The board went even further and informed all municipalities in the state that WTE plants were not safe options for municipal waste disposal.
CAG’s ability to build awareness and public involvement on WTE issues helped lay groundwork for its success in improving biomedical waste disposal. Since many health care facilities in Chennai are located in residential areas, improper disposal of biomedical waste can create immediate health risks for a community. In 2002, CAG received a second grant from Greengrants to fund a survey of the medical waste management and disposal practices of more than 60 health care providers in Chennai.
The survey was motivated in part by the government’s plan to locate a biomedical waste treatment facility in the area. The survey assessed the waste management practices of health care institutions in order to prepare them to use the facility effectively. CAG also surveyed members of 15 communities near health care institutions that had poor performance records. CAG’s initial intention was to increase awareness among health care personnel and waste handlers, but the project also has helped educate and empower neighborhood leaders to play a “watchdog” role and assure that health care providers properly dispose of waste. During the survey process the group identified community members willing to join an alert network to inform CAG of violations, and this network continues to monitor local disposal practices.
As CAG has built expertise in biomedical waste management, it has become an important resource for other grassroots groups and communities in India, which now turn to CAG for guidance. As a result, in part, of CAG’s efforts, awareness of the need for safe disposal of waste has increased throughout the region, and healthcare organizations are responding by improving their practices.