Comments for Ted Mathys

Comment on Operation Bamboo by Jiten Grover

Jiten Grover — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:02:56 +0000

I do empathise as much with the rag pickers. But I think our country needs a better system of segregation of waste at source. No one should need to ruffle through garbage dumps and recycle waste in the first place.

Comment on Operation Bamboo by Greg Bertleff

Greg Bertleff — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 02:14:25 +0000

Ted, I’ve been reading your blog all summer, and it’s been awesome…but I think post is my favorite

Comment on Chintan Recycling Center Vlog by Ted Mathys

Ted Mathys — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 06:33:59 +0000

Hi, Manfred

You are correct that the recycling unit must purchase the recyclables from the hotels. It seems perverse logic, but it really brings into focus the fact that waste is variously a burden and a resource. The hotels know they can sell the recyclables to competitive players, so Chintan has to jockey vis-a-vis other buyers.

Comment on Chintan Recycling Center Vlog by manfred

manfred — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:41:53 +0000

wow, very informative.
there still a few questions for me:
does the recycling center have to pay for the waste, or do they get it for free?
it seemed the bottles are all the same and used only once. How representative is this for the india recycling market?
hope you can help me, thx.
great project

Comment on Wastepickers and Climate Change in 20 Steps by Ted Mathys

Ted Mathys — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 05:13:20 +0000

Hi, Jess

Thanks so much for this. The photos are quite powerful, and yes, this issue is very much on my mind. I’ve done some work on it in the West African context, and was very impressed with the advocacy the Chintan has done around e-waste here.

In fact, they collaborated with the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition on a film about the problems of e-waste export and disassembly in India. A snippet of that film is here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkndVAwBf_k

The issue is really one of extended producer responsibility. Corporations who manufacture these products need to 1) make them clean and free of toxics, and 2) take responsibility for them at end of life. At the same time, simply outlawing informal recycling of e-waste would devastate the livelihoods of some of the poorest in urban India.

Hope you are doing well in Peru. Keep up the great work!

Ted

Comment on Wastepickers and Climate Change in 20 Steps by Jess

Jess — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:55:26 +0000

Hey Ted,

This made me think of you…http://www.sophiegerrard.com/SophieHomeIndex.html. It’s photos of electronic (tech) waste in India. Have you come across this at all?

Un saludo from Lima,

Jess

Comment on Seven Social Sins by Judy Mathys

Judy Mathys — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:01:47 +0000

Ted,
This is the “other”" Judy Mathys in Florida and this is all too weird. Is your mother’s name Judy Mathys? I’m on a google sight that sends me emails if my name or bookstore name pops up anywhere. There is a bookstore in India with my same name (Family Book Shop) so I get their mail a lot…and now anything with Judy Mathys in it.

Too weird. But love that Ghandi quote. I have it on a poster at the store.

Comment on The Young Corridor by iain

iain — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:23:09 +0000

Got it. I suppose the issue is whether advocates insist that governments fulfil their responsibilities or try to fill the gap that they leave. Chintan seems to doing both, and rather well. Recycling raises a similar challenge does it not, because if the govt did its job and managed the waste, there would be no waste pickers and no recycling? Look forward to reading your analysis of waste and recycling..

Comment on The Young Corridor by Ted Mathys

Ted Mathys — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:30:42 +0000

Thanks much for this comment. Yes, you are right that the ultimate goal for Chintan’s education program is to help prepare students to gain access to the formal education system. The problem is that here, as in many places, there is a seemingly insoluble contradiction that plays out between laws and reality, especially in the area of publicly funded social services. For example, in recent years there was a welfare fund for children established that was intended to provide roughly 100 rupees per month to the most disadvantaged kids. The Chintan education team navigated the process and registered scores of kids for the program, but after 18 months, Rajneesh said they haven’t seen a cent. Amid such uncertainty, Chintan has charted a pragmatic course, seeking to funnel kids into formalized education (with all of the challenges that it entails for this community) as well as equipping them with life skills.

Comment on The Young Corridor by iain

iain — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 18:02:07 +0000

Well-written and very thought-provoking. I wonder about your comment that “the right to education is the right to learn and grow, whether or not that learning takes place in school.” Should we not at least aspire to provide everyone with access to formal education, particularly if state funds are involved – and if anything give preferential treatment to the marginalized and poor? Is that not the goal of “No Child in Trash?” Illiteracy is a product of discrimination – ie the unfair allocation of resources. Interested in your thoughts.