Trash Talk

An article by Mita Banerjee from Harmonyindia.org

Garbage and Solutions

 I am overwhelmed and really touched by the response of my fb friends for reading and appreciating my page Garbage to Gardens. I thank you all for sending me your likes.
Since you have liked what I have written, my humble appeal and request to you all is that let us all be together in this mission of solving this glaring issue of garbage which is creating so much littering on the streets added with stink and filth. This is  attracting flies, mosquitoes, dogs, cats, birds etc to spread diseases like dengue, malaria, swine flue etc, the list is only increasing day by day. the rag pickers who are handling this waste are also exposed to all kinds of infections. How long can we remain silent spectators to this miserable situation. Apathy on the  part of the corporation is also responsible for this big mess that we are in today. No point in indulging in blame game. Since we are responsible for creating this, we have to take the responsibility for this
       It is high time that we all resolve this issue by taking a firm stand not to throw our kitchen and garden waste outside our homes and handle it with different simple processes which I have already mentioned in my posts on fb.  page. this will give you valuable returns in the form of healthy organic fertilizer for your plants.
      After you succeed, please share this experience with just five families in your neighbourhood and request them t follow the same as it is for a genuine social cause. This simple action from all of us , we will be helping our great nation which all of us wish to see a clean and healthy place to live, So, let us not waste any more time friends .looking forward to hearing from you soon.
  Wish you all the best 
               Sudha pai  

Segregation of Bio-waste

After introducing our Prime Minister’s Policy of Swach Bharat, people in many places have started implementing many projects like segregation, disposal of waste etc. a bit seriously, but not enough to get good results. Please read below a few suggestions.

Since the garbage accumulated every day is of different types, such as wet garbage, plastics, glass, electronic waste, and lastly bio-waste like sanitary pads, diapers, syringes etc., we need minimum 4 different containers for these.

1)      One for wet waste  which can go for composting

2)      One for plastic which can go for recycling

3)      One for electronic waste  which can also be re-used

4)      One for bio-waste this should be separately segregated without mixing with any other waste as this might contain infections and other communicable diseases etc.

In my earlier posts, I have mentioned different processes for composting. Hence, now I am giving importance to this bio-waste, segregation of which has not been happening all these years and as such, it is very necessary to introduce now and see that this waste is incinerated along with hospital waste if possible or get separate incinerators for this. I appeal to our corporation to give priority to this and start implementing this soon. I appeal to all my friends too to think about seriously to take active interest and get it done as it is affecting our health.

To make the disposal easy, waste pickers may collect the wet waste and bio-waste every day and other wastes on different days of the week. They may instruct the residents about this plan.

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My Garbage is my Responsibility part 2

The saga of events that has taken place recently, the nationwide agitation all over the country for our civic rights has somewhat helped us to think about the next step. Rights and responsibilities go hand in hand and should be given equal importance to both.

This is regarding the menace created by plastic products that are used by general public because they are easily available, cheap and seemingly very convenient for use. The negative side of this usage of plastic has been totally ignored till it reached a point of no return. Firstly, the used plastic has to find a proper place for disposal. Even though, the strict segregation laws are there, many do not follow these laws and very indiscreetly throw their waste mixed with wet waste, plastic products like carry bags, even hazardous and harmful materials like battery cells, broken glasses, used tube lights, used huggies, sanitary pads etc., the list is endless. Added to this, the eating houses all over the city also throw their waste such as thermocol packages, disposable kitchenware and what not. All these things find their way to the huge garbage bins kept on the roads unattended and overflowing all the time. Disposable waste from the eating houses also is very callously pushed into the drain chambers in a most irresponsible manner. These choked chambers create havoc during the rainy season by flooding the roads, even causing major floods as it happened in Mumbai a few years back.

In order to find a tangible solution to this existing reality, NGOs have appointed rag pickers to sort out this mess littered on the streets. Here again we find young children, many of them minors working with bare hands, there by getting exposed to all kinds of infections. Many of us, educated and civilized citizens proudly show off our knowledge of human rights, child labour etc sitting in the drawing rooms of our comfortable homes. It is a mockery of our education. If at all we have any conscience left within us, we cannot shut our minds to this miserable and pitiable situation.As responsible citizens it is not enough to find fault with the whole system and do nothing about it. Civic bodies are also currently showing some interest in this matter. A clipping from The Times Of India is given as an attachment below to read. This is a very encouraging step. The Corporation may please take some course of action to find support and help from the citizens and solve this problem within the earliest possible time frame.

The following suggestions may also be given a thought and if possible may be implemented. Our scientists are also taking keen interest in this and they may also be consulted. One name which appeared in the website recently is Dr Alka Zadgaunkar from Nagpur who has succeeded by some process to get petroleum from plastic. Secondly, a few recycling centers may be introduced in the cities and organize collection from different localities. The companies which supply these products like huggies, sanitary pads etc may please replace plastic with the bio-degradable material and this may be separately segregated. If all of us share these responsibilities, we can have an excellent system in place of which we will all be proud of.

Our intelligent younger generation may please try to keep pace with our progress of science and technology by also becoming aware of their civil, moral and social responsibilities. We have succeeded with our technology to reach the Moon. At the same time, ironically some of our unfortunate fellow beings are made to dive into dirty and choked manholes bare-bodied with no protective clothing and take out stinking dead rats, cats and such other stuffs. These people with their families live in very miserable and unhygienic conditions. Their children are not getting proper education and many of them often suffering from ailments caused by very unhygienic surroundings. We as responsible citizens cannot remain insensitive spectators to all such things happening around us. The only way we can help them is to be always aware our civic responsibilities like segregation of waste, say no to plastic, see that drain chambers are not used as garbage bins and last but not the least, if we come across any garbage littered on the streets draw immediate attention of our elected civic authorities to promptly address the issue.

I quote “Remember, the universe is the echo of our actions and thoughts". - Dalai Lama

Indian Express article

My Garbage is my Responsibility By sudha pai
Overflowing garbage bins unattended is a constant eyesore on the streets in all cities.
We read in the newspapers only unfulfilled promises from the civic authorities such as so
many crores have been sanctioned and so much of land has been allotted etc.Strict laws
are passed for segregation of wet and dry stuff. But what we see littered on the street is
something entirely contrary to this rule. Plastic bags, broken glass bulbs , batteries etc
along with wet waste like cooked leftovers rotten vegetables and fruits. The list is
endless. More over, littered food-waste provides a perfect environment for stray
dogs, cats and pests such as rats to increase in numbers, thus feeding a larger
problem. Ultimately the common man is left with no choice but to live with an
increased exposure to diseases in these unhygienic and dirty conditions. It has been a
long wait without seeing any positive results.
This slogan “My garbage is my responsibility” is written after evaluating the
existing reality. If we want to live in clean surroundings all of us have to make an effort
to achieve this. All of us as educated, civilized and responsible citizens,seriously follow
this slogan , we will be creating a clean and peaceful breakthrough in our garbage
situation.
Wet waste created in an average household after segregating the dry waste, is
hardly few grams may be even less than one kg per day. If we can handle this
individually without throwing it out into the common garbage bins, the problem will be
reduced to a large extend. Our future generation will be able to learn and adapt to this
culture and benefit from it.We will be teaching our children the awareness of our moral,
civic and social responsibilities at home. But how do we do all this?
Many youngsters have taken up this challenging job by designing various types of
products that can take care of our wet waste very effectively in our homes especially in
flats where it is needed most.One such product, Daily Dumps(brand name) commonly
known as Khamba has been tested and proved effective. This product has been designed
by a young entrepreneur, Poonam Kasturi from Bangalore. It is a modular three tier
terracotta composter. It is quite an attractive piece which can be kept in a corner of a
balcony in a flat along with the other flowering pots.The compost prepared in this would
be ready in about three month’s time. It is also environment friendly as it is made of clay.
Details about usage and maintenance etc are given separately along with the product.You
may please visit www.dailydump.org for more details. Many more competitive products
are also available in the market where you may have an option to choose one suitable for
your needs. Some such products have also been discussed by my friend on her blog:
www.greenokplease.org
Lastly, it is my sincere appeal to all our respected builders to provide one product of
this kind and make it mandatory to use it before issuing the no objection certificate.
Already there is a supreme court order that every society has to be provided with
composting pits. This is only a practical variation as the composting is done in an
individual capacity. In many societies the pits are left unused attracting reptiles, field rats
and other pests. In some societies no pits are provided. However many societies find it
impractical for want of co-operation from the members.So if we practice the above
mentioned system the load on the civic bodies like corporation etc will be reduced to a
large extend.From a humanitarian angle,we may be able to reduce the work load of those
unfortunate ones who are doing this filthy jobs with bare hands and exposing themselves
to various infections. It is surely not a pleasant sight happening around you.
Next step may be to take care of the dry waste.This requires more organized approach
of segregation as there are very many harmful and hazardous materials thrown out
indiscreetly.We may have do this more systematically. Today it may look and sound as an
impossible job. But if we share these important responsibilities, we can have a very
useful and fantastic system in place of which we will all be proud of. I quote
“You could be the change that you like to see in the world”
Mahatma Gandhi

Times of India Article