Sensational revelation by the survey regarding high garbage generation by low income groups in Chennai!!
How would you react if you come to know that the low income groups in Chennai are generating more garbage when compared to the high income groups? Surprised right!!
It was brought to light by a survey that the reliance on single use plastics especially by the low income group has led to more garbage in Chennai. Moreover, the practice of waste segregation is also low in the low income group. In Chennai, households with a monthly income of less than Rs 25000 have been responsible for 5.2kg of waste every day. Households with more than Rs 50000 per month income have been responsible for 3.2kg of waste every day.
Information is that those households that have a monthly income between Rs 25000 and Rs 50000 have been generating 4kg of waste. In the International Journal of Science and Research Archive, the results have been published. Point is that socio-economic status influences the practice of waste generation in Chennai.
The increased waste generation by the low income groups could be due to various challenges in adopting waste reduction methods or due to excess reliance on single use products. The survey revealed that just 30% of the low income group in Chennai segregate the waste but 60% of high income group segregate the waste. There exists a positive correlation between education levels and recycling rates. Higher recycling behaviour was found in higher educated households in Chennai. Both educational programmes and awareness campaigns were responsible for improving the recycling rates.
