Can traditional methods of managing

waste in households offer any insight

in tackling contemporary waste
management issues?

Anusha Rayani, Soha Randhawa, Syed Ali

Arshad, Areba Rehman Khan
NAME OR LOGO 2
 87,000
tonnes - Daily in Pakistan

13,000
tonnes - Daily in Karachi

4.5 tonnes
Rot on the streets of Karachi daily

https://www.export.gov/article?id=Pakistan-Waste-Management
https://www.dawn.com/news/1399517
Waste Composition

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 Where does all the Waste go?

Landfill Sites Dumped in Ocean Stays on Road

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The Larger System

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We are accomplice in this Throwaway Culture

Enlightenment

Post
Traditional
Anthropocene
Society Anthropocene

Industrial
Revolution

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Empathize
To find out how it used to be, and how can(t) we
adopt that today, we went to...
Senior Citizens Access the knowledge on waste management techniques employed, at a household
level, in an organically traditional society

Homemakers Access the knowledge regarding domestic waste management with homemakers as the
direct source of information

Experts To gain insights into the bigger picture and to point us in the direction of further
research material

Orangi To investigate the difference in waste composition and collection in an low-income area
Residents

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Research Methodology
Purposive Sampling

Senior Citizens Homemakers Orangi Residents

Visiting old homes such Collecting Oral Histories Community-based waste

as Anmol Zindagi Trust from multi-ethnic, activity with randomly-
homemakers selected households

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The Case of Orangi
The System at Orangi

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The Case of Orangi
Current Situation

Government
Endorsed temporary
Dumpsites…

Clean Karachi
Campaign
By Sindh Govt…

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The Case of Orangi
What do people Know?

Garbage Germany
Houses
Truck School

Government
Van?

Hawa Goth

Household 1

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The Case of Orangi
What do people Know?

Houses Sweeper Garbage Thrown in

Van City?

Other Open/
Houses Barren Land

Household 2

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The Case of Orangi
What type of waste do they produce?

Household 1

It can be seen that there

maximum waste is organic,
followed by non-reusable
plastic,
Paper, cardboard and then
usable plastic

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The Case of Orangi
What type of waste do they produce?

Household 2

Card placement in this

household too revealed
similar findings

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 The Case of Orangi
And where does the power
lies?

Contrasting opinions
between households. It
is interesting how
citizens consider that the
they have an agency as
well as more power

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Oral Histories From Homemakers
Which ethnicities do they belong to?

CH
LO
BA URDU
-SPEA
KING

MEM
TS
PU O NS
AJ
R

S
HAN
AFG
PUNJABI

SINDI

RATIS HI TRALI
GU J C

NAME OR LOGO 18
Define
Key
Insights
What did we
learn?

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 Key Insights Hopes/ Desires Fears/ Concerns How might we?

Key Theme 1: Organic waste forms the highest Accessibility (in terms of time and space issue in modern Dedicate spaces in households

Insights
Dealing with proportion of waste composition in their resource) is increased so we can sort out houses to carry out or immediate community that
Organic households organic waste from other trash and utilize gardening can be used to utilize the
Household it

&
waste with compost?
composting
Most respondents shared several Time constraints - Make it easier for the organic

How
traditional methods of using kitchen sorting, composting, waste to be sorted and
waste for watering and composting gardening and processed without
maintaining is time overwhelming homemakers?

Might intensive

We?
Theme 2: 3R's- In the past not many products were Better quality plastic Plastic is unhygienic; Push corporates to produce
Reuse, Reduce ‘disposable’ in nature; they were cause of illness goods and packages with
& Recycle intended to be reused reusable qualities

In the past, plastic consumption Preference of beauty products with lower quality plastic
generally used to be lower due to low organic substance; no chemical additives cannot be reused
cost-effectiveness

A lot of organic waste was used for Difficult to carry out the Turn this into a business
beauty (for skincare, hair care etc.) and "totkas" because its opportunity for people among
medicinal purposes work intensive and time them who do not have time
consuming constraints issues they can do it
for them

Tote bags and jute baskets were used as The government creates a mechanism to
shopping bags sort the waste after collection and recycle
it. Some senior citizens mentioned that it
is the government's responsibility entire

Theme 3: Senior citizens were unable to give Religious values and ideas be used to Ban on plastic will Technologically innovative
Cultural solutions in modern context because inculcate a culture of reducing and affect the lower-income ideas to use plastic and
Practices and modern technologies and plastic-based recycling waste community dependent generate employment
Behavior economy was not as much a part of their on plastic as a mode of
lives income
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"throwaway" packages and wastes were Sustainable ways of using plastic and Youth has little Help households do away with
 Tote bags and jute baskets were used as The government creates a mechanism to

Key
shopping bags sort the waste after collection and recycle
it. Some senior citizens mentioned that it
is the government's responsibility entire

Insights Theme 3:
Cultural
Senior citizens were unable to give
solutions in modern context because
Religious values and ideas be used to
inculcate a culture of reducing and
Ban on plastic will
affect the lower-income
Technologically innovative
ideas to use plastic and

& Practices and

Behavior
modern technologies and plastic-based
economy was not as much a part of their
recycling waste community dependent
on plastic as a mode of
generate employment

How
lives income

"throwaway" packages and wastes were Sustainable ways of using plastic and Youth has little Help households do away with

Might
biodegradable (used newspapers, emphasis on 'plastic as a blessing' knowledge of traditional using "throwaway" packages
bamboos etc instead) methods, and that will and instead use their own
be lost as culture

We? changes further reusable packages and

containers

Packaging fetishism has a high High-income household be made more Discourage corporates and
correlation with social class. Lower class aware of their needless waste generation consumers from using
and lower middle class population tend excessive packaging of goods
to adopt a more minimalist lifestyle

Religion plays a major role in deciding Political parties

waste management ideas and practices interference and
government

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Ideate/ Prototype/ Test
Strategy
Homemak
er

Instagram
Initiative

Senior
Oral Citizens
Catalogu Historie
e s

Interactiv
e Experts
Booklet

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Design User
Instagram Page & Interactive Booklet

YOUTH
According to a study conducted in Pakistan, 50% of the youth’s buying habits are
influenced by media.

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 Instagram Page

1. Awareness Posts

2. ‘Peek-a-boos’ --Peek into the Catalogue

3. Fillers

4. Events

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Interactive Booklet
Snapshot of Traditional Methods

DIYS

Reflections

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Design User
E-Catalogue: ‘Kachra Kahani’

General Public
From homemakers to the youth to the experts everyone shall have free access to
the repertoire of traditional waste management methods

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Kachra Kahani E-Catalogue

Ethnicity-based Practices

Concept Maps

Share Practices

Unique Practices

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Design Implications

- Our design approach attempts to reform the waste lifestyle of an individual around the concept of eco
culturalism

- It adds to a recently burgeoning field of environmental studies

- However, the design element may not completely bring the old and traditional practice back in essence. It
sensitizes the reader of today to the various ways waste can be used

- Our target audience is the youth who may only consume the material for the sake of it

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 We at Kachra Kahani are thankful for your time and
attention. Do check our booklet & visit us on our instagram
page @kachrakahani

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