***My Story-My Environment***
As
the famous Sanskrit quotes says, Lokāḥ
Samastāḥ Sukhino Bhavantu. Let the entire world be happy with our actions.
For this to happen, Sustainable living1 and Circular economy2
are to be given greater importance from elementary education itself.
***Preface***
1)
During my B.Tech days, our chemistry sir urged us not to use polythene covers.
2)
5 years back India started her most ambitious Swachch Bharat Abhiyaan.
3)
Somewhere in my mind, I knew we as Genxt had to carry this idea of need for green forward.
4)
To start with, I stuck to the habit of throwing waste only in bins.
5) Today
I keep chocolate/biscuit covers, empty cans, bottles in my bag until I find
dustbins.
6) Also,
there are few inspiring personalities* on Fb, Twitter who kindled my
eco-spirit.
***My Eco-friendly activities***
For plastic waste:
a)
Encouraged my dad to carry cloth bag to vegetable market, thus we closed our doors
for new polythene covers. (earlier, he used to take one for every other
vegetable). Gandhiji said “be the change that you want to see in the world.” So, it
is time we change ourselves first instead of blaming govts. for not banning
production of covers.
b) While in a tiffin centre, I prefer to eat
over there instead of taking parcel (carrying boiling sambar in LPDE covers and
consuming is fatal to health and creates soil pollution when dumped in
landfills and marine water pollution when dumped in oceans.
In case of
compulsion, I take the parcel without sambar packet & cover. I rarely order
food on Swiggy and Zomato, a habit which every middle-class Indian possess is
we won't spend much and cook in our homes/rooms.
c)
Saying no to some single-use plastics3.
Do
it this way,
à Avoid straw,
drink juice/cooldrinks directly from the glasses.
àAvoid plastic
spoons-wash your hands and eat.
d)
While going out, I always carry:
àa backpack-to
keep my supermarket purchases.
àa big size
cover-just in case I have more stuff to carry.
àa 1L bottle to
avoid purchase of new water bottles, to carry sugarcane juice & coconut
water.
Few More Tips:
e) Collect plastic waste and send them to
recyclers.
f) India is predominantly youth and many
marriages to happen in the coming years. So, we need to dwell on the idea of
eco-marriages to avoids single-use plastics and minimize food waste (there
are people who does that for usàhttps://bit.ly/2Ks4gal)
g) Stop Marine water pollution-3/4th portion
of earth is water. Thanks to man’s indiscriminate dumping of plastics, plastics
are now found in Mariana trench (https://bit.ly/2Id0huj).
For organic waste:
a) Last
week, I ventured into home composting concept. Made a DIY compost bin (https://bit.ly/319sOej)
and started dumping floral waste, dry leave waste. Checking with process of
composting every day and reading related blogs for more improvements. Earlier
we used to throw all floral and dry waste in polythene covers at a distance to
our colony which harmed environment.
b)
Composting is an aerobic decomposition, microbes feed on organic content and
finally produce soily back manure which is a nature fertiliser. (for startersàhttps://bit.ly/2WqODao).
c)
By composting our organic waste at home, we provide respite to locals of
Jawaharnagar, Ghazipur, Deonar, Mavallipura landfilling sites. (more about landfills
àhttps://bit.ly/2RnWYZa)
For e-waste disposal:
a)
This
week, I am going to an e-waste collection centre to hand over used tube lights,
CFL (which pose a serious environment threat as tube lights and CFL have
harmful mercury in them). Yes, gone are the days of tubes, CFLs but LEDs are
still there which contain 12 toxic chemicals in them. So, we need proper
dispose for them too.
b)
Over
the last month, I have tweeted concerned electrical and electronic producers,
concerned local (GHMC), state (TSPCB) and national (CPCB, MOEFC) authorities
urging them to strictly implement EPR4 guidelines-2016. (my twitter https://bit.ly/2Wmneqa).
Also met Mr. Praveen Kumar, an EE in TSPSCB, Sanathnagar. He finished his words
saying “it is public who need to think about
safe disposal of ewaste and PCB can
only pass rules and regulations”
c)
The same rules apply to all the e-waste; it is next major threat to the world.
India is one the largest producers of e-waste. It requires proper dismantling,
segregation of waste, recycling and recovery of some valuable metals like
cobalt, silver and even gold. Illegal exporting of e-waste to African countries
and burning ewaste to recover metals have to be banned. We should all make it a
habit of sending e-waste to authorised dismantler nearby:
(download
link for e-waste collection centres in GHMC- https://bit.ly/2HVHkOY).
(Saahas
zero waste operates in Bengaluru and has some e-waste drop off locations. https://bit.ly/2WGK4Z1)
(Delhi
and Gurgaon regions have number of registered e-waste PRO5s like
Namo e-waste)
c)
One good idea is to bring in carriable ewaste to the office campuses and drop
them in ewaste bins placed (they are usually there).
***Future
Plans***
a) Subhash
Palekar’s ZBNF6 can be the solution for agrarian crisis. I sincerely
want to venture into agriculture. Natural farming is a part of sustainable
living in many ways:
è
No chemical fertilisers, pesticides (many of them already proved
to be cancerous)
è
No extensive irrigation required- thanks to micro-climate which
reduces evaporation.
è
Safeguards bio-diversity as farm helping microbes and insecticides
are saved from extinction ex. Earthworms.
b) AP govt.
started ZBNF on large scale. (https://bit.ly/2WblevT) Those who own farm lands request them to
switch from chemical farming to ZBNF.
***Eco Terminology***
1)
Sustainable Living- To lead a life happily and healthily on this wonderful
planet and leave away giving the same wonder to our next generations.
2)
Circular economy- is a part of sustainable living which reuses, recycles every
product after its end of life (EoL).
3)
Singe-use plastics are disposable plastic plates, cups, straws etc.,
4) EPR-
Extended Producer Responsibility
5) PRO-
Product Responsibility Organisation
6)
ZBNF-Zero Budget Natural Farming
***Inspiring Personalities***
1)
Parveen Kaswan, IFS (https://bit.ly/2wEVVYJ)
2)
Subhash Palekar (https://bit.ly/1Cie8Lz)
3)
Ramu Dosapati (https://bit.ly/2Z9DAzj)
4)
Sidharth Naik (https://bit.ly/2JXI0FW)
