In this blog series we have looked at various aspects related to cleanliness, waste management, plantation etc. In this concluding part we would like to focus on general awareness. Publicity and Information The necessity to ensure that stakeholders and participants are involved in the scheme at an early stage, for maximizing acceptance and participation rates, exact information, publicity and parlance is pivotal. Different strata of society will require different forms of communication. Corporates and offices shall require being informed about minimizing paper usage, reusing of plastic packets and switching to non-plastic cutlery at their dining areas. Some areas will require very intensive publicity campaign involving direct mailing to householders presentations in villages, campaigns in schools and retirement homes, and advertisements in newspapers and on television and radio.  Composting schemes tend to be popular with the local population, creating jobs and a...

In this blog series we have looked at an overview of our waste situation and some different aspects of waste management . Here we shall go through certain minor aspects, even some lifestyle changes that can go a long way in achieving a Swachh Bharat. Just Say No To Plastic It’s a choke until death. The Earth is choking until plastic fills every inch of land and every cusec of water. It is giving rise to plastic pollution which is adversely affecting wildlife, their habitat and our ecosystems.  World Economic Forum report says that by 2050, fishes will not find any oxygen, hence space to live because of the plastic debris. Plastic, when dumped into landfills release harmful greenhouse gases. A foam plastic cup will take 50 years, a plastic beverage holder 400 years, a disposable diaper 450 years, and fishing line will take 600 years to degrade. Start by reusing, plastic cups, folders and taking your own bags for shopping. When it is dumped into landfills, it g...

In this blog series we attempt to cover all these aspects with our suggestions and recommendations towards achieiving a clean India or a Swachh Bharat. In our first part of this series we looked at an overview of the situation. Here we will try to look at waste management at a deeper level. Separate Collection of the Waste Waste is not waste until it is wasted. If we separate waste at sources, we will earn, learn and save. This "Not In My Backyard (NIMBY)" syndrome amongst the uber users will receive a hard-hit from separation of biodegradable wastes at source which offers the opportunity of selling home-made compost.  When we eat, mow the lawn or prune trees, we produce waste. But this waste is a special type of waste. It can easily be transformed into a useful product that can enhance the quality of our soils, especially the soils that an intensive agricultural system is making less fertile. This product is compost. A successful separation of ‘clean...

India is one big nation. We are rich in cultural heritage. Over century we’ve developed, economically, especially the middle class. About 43% of population resides in urban areas, which were 11.4% according to 1901 census, 28.53% in the 2001 census and crossed 30% as per 2011 census, standing at 31.16%. There are 53 urban agglomerations in India with a population of 1 million or more as of 2011 against 35 in 2001. Our transcendence can be termed as “a consumerist culture”, where virtually every item purchased comes fixed in a box wrapped in a bubble sheet. In science, this fact reduces time of impact and absorbs the momentum after collision but in reality it is aggregating to an irreparable damage to environment. It is waste generation.  India generates 62 million tonnes out of which 43 million Tonnes Per Annum is collected from source. Read below: 5.6 million tonnes is plastic waste 0.17 million tonnes is biomedical waste, 15 lakh tonne is e-waste 7.90 million ...