November 2006 TRINet Newsletter
The monsoons have hit Tamil Nadu, India. Reports of floods have come in from many parts of the state – paddy fields are submerged and crop lost. Drainage channels being blocked are one reason for flooding of fields. In the town areas, it is the storm water drains which are misused as waste disposal systems that are clogged with all manner of solid wastes from debris to plastics to rubber to tree branches. Mosquitoes are everywhere – breeding in water from the rains stagnating till it evaporates or seeps underground - and there is the constant threat of mosquito borne diseases apart from the usual diseases due to water contamination.
September was when the Coastal Clean up day was observed and the data accumulated over the last twenty years clearly indicates that most of the wastes dumped on the coast can be avoided. At another level, Beijing was recently host to the second Inter Governmental Conference on the Global Programme of Action for the protection of the marine environment from land based activities where among others, litter disposal was a major cause for concern.
These are but a few reasons why this issue of the TRINet newsletter focuses on the problem of solid waste disposal.
