Pick up after you light crackers, help waste pickers

In the aftermath of celebrating festivals, waste management often takes a hit with packets of crackers and burnt-out shells left on the roads in large quantities.

The Sound of laughter echoes through the air as families come together, bursting crackers to celebrate the festival of lights at Kanakapura in Bengaluru. (Photo | Allen Egenuse J)

BENGALURU:  While the long week of festive cheer continues for Deepavali in the city, activists and volunteer groups are urging people to be mindful of how they celebrate and burst crackers. They request individuals using green crackers to rethink the litter and the humongous task of cleaning the streets that the pourakarmikas and daily waste pickers are met with the next day. 

In the aftermath of celebrating festivals, waste management often takes a hit with packets of crackers and burnt-out shells left on the roads in large quantities. Odette Katrak from Beautiful Bharat spoke about the multiple online campaigns across the country to create awareness of the different preemptive and post-celebration measures people can take.

“Green crackers may reduce emissions marginally but still contribute to noise and air pollution. For those opting to burst crackers, reduced volumes or joint celebrations are ideal. Our campaign requests residents to place two cartons, one for Dry waste (cracker boxes, packaging) and another for toxic remains (Reject waste). This segregation can increase recycling percentage and reduce waste to landfill, also lessening the burden on sweepers, who clean the mess left behind.” She added that usually after the festival, burnt crackers and other waste are littered on roads in large quantities. 

The pourakarmikas don’t have the time to segregate the waste, which ends up becoming a mixed waste category and dumped in landfills. Activists also worry that remnants of phosphorus and sulfur left after burning the crackers can also cause harm to the city’s already deteriorating water quality in lakes.

“Fortunately, we don’t see instances of cracker packets floating in the water, however, it’s a cause for worry if it rains, as all the chemicals and heavy metals flow into the lakes,” he said and added that streamlining waste management after any celebration is crucial. People can reduce waste generation by bursting green crackers in groups, reusing gift wrappers, and moving to sustainable ways of celebrating, which will help the environment.