December 2025

The Core Shift: From Waste Management to Waste Reduction

Leave a Comment / Health & Waste Prevention /

A simple decision-making guide that helps households choose safer, sustainable products using a Product Audit Matrix based on utility, health impact, material choice, and recyclability. Introduction: Why “Recyclable” Is the Wrong First Question Most people try to be responsible consumers.They ask questions like: Is this recyclable? Is this eco-friendly? Where do I throw this? But […]

The Core Shift: From Waste Management to Waste Reduction Read More »

Why the “R Framework” Must Move Upstream

Leave a Comment / Product Design & Materials /

From Consumer Responsibility to Design Responsibility The R Framework is often framed as a consumer responsibility. In this blog, Aditi Deodhar explains why real waste prevention must begin at the design stage—before products reach consumers—and why redesign is the most powerful intervention Introduction: Why Are Consumers Asked to Fix a Design Problem? Every sustainability conversation

Why the “R Framework” Must Move Upstream Read More »

Zero-Waste Offices: How One Mug and One Administrator Can Stop 48,000 Paper Cup Waste a Year

Leave a Comment / City Systems & Scaling, Policy & Governance /

The Daily Tea-Coffee Habit We Never Question In most offices, tea and coffee arrive in paper cups—quietly, efficiently, and without debate. One cup.Then another.Every day. It feels harmless. But let’s pause and do the maths. The Maths of a “Small” Habit Let’s take one office employee — Mr. X. Daily: 2 paper cups Weekly: 10

Zero-Waste Offices: How One Mug and One Administrator Can Stop 48,000 Paper Cup Waste a Year Read More »

Skip the Slip: How Rethinking Receipts Can Reduce Waste and Protect Health

Leave a Comment / City Systems & Scaling /

Discover the Skip the Slip movement in the US, why thermal paper receipts are harmful, and how opting out can reduce waste and protect health. Every day across the world, millions of shoppers receive paper receipts they quickly discard, tuck into pockets, or forget at the bottom of their bags. What feels like a small

Skip the Slip: How Rethinking Receipts Can Reduce Waste and Protect Health Read More »

Meet the School Principals Redefining Pune’s Environmental Future

Leave a Comment / Schools & Children /

Discover how visionary school principals in Pune are acting as intermediate policymakers—driving plastic-free schools and making Mission City Chakra a city-wide success. The Environmental Challenge Cities Cannot Solve Alone Urban environmental challenges—plastic pollution, waste mismanagement, and declining public health—are often addressed through top-down policies or citizen-level appeals. What is frequently overlooked is the middle layer

Meet the School Principals Redefining Pune’s Environmental Future Read More »

Why Eliminating Plastic Tiffins Is a Policy-Level Change — Not a Lifestyle Choice

Leave a Comment / City Systems & Scaling /

Plastic tiffins are not a personal lifestyle issue. They are a public health, waste prevention, and governance challenge. Here’s why eliminating them requires policy-level action. Reframing the Conversation: This Is Not About Personal Preference Plastic tiffins are often discussed as a choice: “People should choose better.”“Families can switch if they want to.”“It’s a lifestyle decision.”

Why Eliminating Plastic Tiffins Is a Policy-Level Change — Not a Lifestyle Choice Read More »

An Upstream Intervention in Action: How Pune’s Schoolchildren Are Preventing Plastic Pollution Before It Begins

Leave a Comment / City Systems & Scaling /

Mission City Chakra demonstrates how child-led behaviour change and family pledges can serve as a scalable upstream intervention—preventing plastic exposure, microplastic pollution, and long-term public health costs. Why Upstream Interventions Matter in Urban Waste Policy Urban waste systems across India—including Pune—are largely designed to manage waste after it is generated. Collection efficiency, processing capacity, and

An Upstream Intervention in Action: How Pune’s Schoolchildren Are Preventing Plastic Pollution Before It Begins Read More »

How Pune’s 3 Lakh Children Are Quietly Changing the City’s Waste Future

Leave a Comment / Schools & Children /

Mission City Chakra is mobilising Pune’s schoolchildren to eliminate plastic tiffins, bottles, and textbook covers—protecting health, preventing microplastic pollution, and triggering family-level behaviour change. A Quiet Shift Is Happening in Pune’s Homes and Schools Across Pune, a silent but powerful transformation is underway. More than 3 lakh schoolchildren are participating in a simple yet far-reaching

How Pune’s 3 Lakh Children Are Quietly Changing the City’s Waste Future Read More »

The Mission City Chakra Model: A Scalable Blueprint for India’s Cities

Leave a Comment / City Systems & Scaling /

Mission City Chakra School Model offers a scalable, low-cost blueprint for Indian cities to prevent plastic waste at source through schools, families, and upstream behaviour change. India’s Urban Challenge Needs a New Kind of Solution India’s cities are growing faster than their waste systems. Despite improvements in collection and processing, plastic pollution continues to rise—largely

The Mission City Chakra Model: A Scalable Blueprint for India’s Cities Read More »

A Small Toggle to Prevent a Big Mess: Why Food-Delivery Apps Must Add a ‘No Sachets & Napkins’ Option

Leave a Comment / City Systems & Scaling /

When you order food at home, do you really need ketchup sachets, vinegar pouches, oregano packets, or paper napkins?For most people, the answer is no—because the moment the delivery arrives, these items go straight into the trash unopened.Yet across India, millions of condiment sachets and paper napkins are pushed into every order by default—even when

A Small Toggle to Prevent a Big Mess: Why Food-Delivery Apps Must Add a ‘No Sachets & Napkins’ Option Read More »