Chat Archives

Chat on "Garbage littered on our Streets" dated July 18, 2007

“ Can we do something about the garbage littered on our roads”

IWC chat on 18 July 2007

Moderated by Veena Nagpal

IWC members in the chat room

Arjun Jassal
commander
extinct
Recycle
shashi
Susan
tigerkid
veenanagpal

Arjun Jassal hi I am the science and technology reporter for the Indian Express, am doing a story on internet communities dedicated to nature...

shashi 18TH JULY CHAT " " Can we do something about the garbage littered on our roads? "

Arjun Jassal so am here to see how indianwildlifeclub members interact with one another online..

shashi great to have you on the chat Arjun. It starts at 8 pm - moderated by Ms Veena Nagpal

veenanagpal hi everyone, I agreed to do this chat because am extremely pained as I am sure all of you are to see our garbage littered way of living.

Any suggestions as to what we can do to rid ourselves of this problem?

Arjun Jassal oh ok, your website says strictly 7:30 to 8:30!

shashi Our moderator today runs an NGO that is active in the area of "clean surroundings"

shashi Veena Great to have you moderate this

shashi Arjun since we are all here lets continue

veenanagpal Waste management is in the hands of the Municipality but in actual fact it is farmed out to the unorganized sector who only collect recyclables and leave all the bio-degradable waste on the roadside which leads to dirt and disease. Can we do something as individuals?

Arjun Jassal well there is always the option of digging a compost pit..

shashi I guess people respond to clear direction if they see benefits for themselves

veenanagpal Arjun I wonder if you have read about Environment Education Promoters - a report is there among the NGOs. A compost pit for 6000 tonnes of waste generated by N Dli alone - would hardly suffice

Arjun Jassal compost pits can only work on a small scale, a small group of people...

shashi Veena what are the innovations you have done extension work on and implemented

veenanagpal Health benefits do not seem to be direct enough Shashi.

shashi Of course they are but then how do we get over our culture of clearing my house and littering the street?

veenanagpal What we are trying to do at EEP is to create an awareness among school children through a fun project cum a practical vermi-composting project done in their schools. We could do with volunteers who could help in spreading the message. We could help volunteers to get training in vermi composting.

veenanagpal Another thing we are doing is creating a vermi composting project for any school/college/institution/industry for their arboreal waste which is otherwise burnt leading to air pollution

Arjun Jassal alright, can you explain vermi composting, please?

shashi of course Arjun and the media can play a significant role in educating and awareness creation

Susan Hi all, great to see the chat going. I am not able to participate fully since I am out of station. Hope you have a fruitful time

veenanagpal Arjun we could do with your help in spreading the message of Garbyhog homebuilders club throught media. The vermi composting project is explained in brief in the report on the NGO section of the Indianwild life club. It would be great if you could visit Modern School Barakhamba road where we have done both the GBH project and their larger arboreal waste project

shashi Arjun/Veena do you believe we should all campaign for strict anti-litter laws?

veenanagpal Thanks Susan, we are doing fine

Arjun Jassal yes anti litter laws can be used. But that requires two very basic aspects of functionality that are missing as of now. Firstly, this needs sensitisation, as people should be aware of why littering is bad for them (apart from the monetary fine). second there should be a will to implement such laws...

veenanagpal Yes, there is a government of India notification re waste management. Problem as usual is that laws exist but municipalities do not follow them. Our aim so far has been to try and bring about a change in thinking. Would be very happy with media collaboration

shashi In Bangalore they experimented with privatisation in garbage collection/segregation and succeeded

veenanagpal Like I said sensitisation is what we are aiming at - specially thru children. Media coverage could help a lot!!

Arjun Jassal yes but how do you explain these laws to people who are busy just tryinng to survive in the metropolis?

shashi I guess middle class colonies a la Vasant Vihar/GK in Delhi could set an example and they are already doing some work

Arjun Jassal yes, the media coverage can really make a difference. Yet before that can be done, workable solutions must be explained, so that an empowered media can help spread the message..

shashi Of course it needs resources to reach out to them but if we could reach colleges as well, it will help

extinct hi, till recently i was a threatened species

extinct sorry, i will focus on the topic for today's chat

shashi Extinct all of us are on that list unless we moderate our abuse of nature/environment

veenanagpal Yes we are trying to reach out to management institues and colleges by sensitising them to the issue. Arjun we have done the Garbyhog project in 45 schools in Noida, Gr Noida and Delhi. I could explain in detail to you separately what we are doing.

Arjun Jassal ok what we are talking about is spreading the message. Can some one please explain the solutions to me? I want to know how biodegradable waste can be properly disposed of. please explain....

veenanagpal Maybe besides an awareness campaign like what we are doing, people could get together for lobbying, filing PILs etch??

Arjun Jassal yes, veena that would be of help.

shashi Veena:it would help if we could list both health and monetary payoffs that garbage management has

veenanagpal Biodegradable waste which forms almost 60% of total waste can be disposed off in a very simple process by vermi composting. This involves making small beds - not dug up pits - and introducing special composter worms who eat this waste and their excreta is v rich compost. It sells at Rs. 17 a kg in the market.

shashi Can colonies run waste composting in neighbourhood parks?

Arjun Jassal this is aimed at small communities? or can it be done on a large scale?

Arjun Jassal also how much land is required for these beds??

veenanagpal Monetary benefits - Vermi compost costs Rs. 17 per kg. It can easily be made by each household/institution. Institutions would save money in buying compost. Yes Arjun it can be done both at household level and on a very large scale. On a large scale it can be very profitable,... abroad vermi compost sells for $18-20 per kg. Ref - land reqd - it can be done in a single flower pot or in many acres of land depending on quantity of biodegradable waste to be disposed of

extinct I take it that we are mainly talking about disposal or use of domestic and restaruant waste, the main source of biodegradable waste?

veenanagpal Shashi, definitely it can be done in neighbourhood parks too. Yes extinct you are right!

shashi what about plastics that litter our streets and choke drains causing waterlogging and diseases

veenanagpal Extinct also arboreal waste - burning of which leads to air pollution and lung diseases.

shashi what is arboreal waste?

extinct if we are talking about domestic waste, this kind of waste is not really a major problem, or is that not correct?

extinct existance of arboreal waste itself is a healthy environment indicator, isn't it?

veenanagpal Shashi plastics are a definite problem... we at EEP are trying to concentrate on bio-degradable waste so that we can get rid of disease spreading litter on roads, flies, dogs, cattle.... bio degradable domestic waste is causing major disease problems

Arjun Jassal but arent plastics also sometimes bunt? and arent the fumes from that very very toxic??

veenanagpal arboreal waste in urban areas is not a healthy environment indicator. its disposal only leads to air pollution - the way it is being tackled at present

extinct you have put you finger on why biodegradable waste needs attention, Veena

shashi Veena how about a tie up with another NGO - Environment Education which teaches garbage collectors how to shred plastics and weave articles of daily use

Arjun Jassal PLEASE EXPLAIN ARBOREAL WASTE!!!

veenanagpal Arboreal waste is the waste generated from mowed grass, pruned trees, dead leaves etc

extinct dry leaves

veenanagpal Shashi, good idea -maybe we could explore it separately

veenanagpal Arjun a medium size project handling about half tonne of waste per day would cost Rs 15-20,000 and this investment can be recovered in less than a years time

shashi Commander and Recycle pl. come in with your views/questions

veenanagpal We have had some corporates like NTPC coming up to sponsor the GBH project and Xansa India in Noida is sponsoring the project in Govt., Schools. In such schools the project doubles up as vocational training. Would be happy if others could come up to sponsor the project specially in govt schools

commander Sorry for the late entry. I am getting myself familiar with the point of discussion

Arjun Jassal is there any bank/institution that would be willing to fund such a project??

veenanagpal pt of discussion commander is how we can sensitize people to our garbage littered way of living and find some solutions for it

Recycle Banks/Corporates should be willing to chip in under their CSR programmes

Arjun Jassal well it can be a very good CSR project, I can see why corporates would be intrested!

veenanagpal EEP is not into commercial vermi composting. We are only creating awareness, and sensitising people I am sure banks should be interested in a commercial proposition.

Recycle Wonder if some of the companies selling organic grains/vegetables will be an easy pick

veenanagpal Yes, recycle, we would be very happy to be associated with corporate CSR plans of any company

commander In Mumbai (Powai) , we trie the separating of the waste with fanfare. But the municipal lorry came and put everything in one bucket and took it. By seeing this, the hearts sank and I think the campaign had a natural death. We may have to enforce it at all levels-- not only the initial one.

veenanagpal How about chipping in with your time and effort to find out this recycle?

Recycle Sure I will be happy to do that

Recycle Will advise outcome of my effort to IWC

veenanagpal You are right about the Municipal efforts, commander - i.e. why we are talking of individual/.group/corporate/insitutional effort!

Arjun Jassal yes with retailing become a very institutionalised sector, the volumes are increasing. I am sure so is the waste.. also it can be very good publicity for which ever company gets into composting..

shashi Arjun that seems to be a great idea - hyper markets - Spencers/Big Bazar inGgn.

veenanagpal You are right Arjun. We would be happy to provide technical know-how for the project, and also provide Composter worms for any company wanting to get into this... would be happy if you could chip in with your help in this area

veenanagpal So what is the outcome - Arjun, Recycle, Commander, Shashi, can we expect help from you?

shashi Veena in the schools covered by your NGO, are the children managing getting their parents to move

shashi Veena you can surely count me in

veenanagpal Yes some of them , have made not only their parents but also their grandparents interested in doing this at home

shashi Change of course is a slow process

Arjun Jassal well I would like to contact you and get to know more about the project ie the schools covered, how vermi composting can be done etc etc etc!

veenanagpal Shashi, at EEP we are also conducting one-day Environment workshops for corporates, colleges and schools

shashi Arjun, contacting the Vasant Vihar and Def. Col RWAs in Delhi may be a good idea as well.

veenanagpal Arjun pl call any time on our mobile 0811109798 or land line 0120-4340493

Arjun Jassal yes that can be done

veenanagpal Arjun pl correct my mobile number to read 9811109798

Arjun Jassal thats 9811109798 right??

veenanagpal right

shashi Arjun/Veena you could contact me any time on 9811827546

Arjun Jassal will do so!

veenanagpal Any questions suggestions before we end?

veenanagpal Arjun may I have your mobile no

shashi So we have talked about biodegradable and arborial waste as also plastics and bringing in corporates and RWAs

Arjun Jassal my number is 9910150219

veenanagpal Thanks guys, it was great talking to all of you - hope we can take this forward some way

extinct ut we did not talk about bringing in the municipality

shashi Exploring possbilities of starting a campaign for strengthening municipal laws as also media campaigns are the other steps contemplated

veenanagpal Municipalities are almost extinct in the work they are doign

extinct how about attaching economic value to clean practices, like carbon credits, for responsible communities?

veenanagpal No more laws pl! We have a plethora of them. Let's talk of how we can get them to enforce existing laws

shashi But we cant wish them away except where we can bring in private sector for collection/education

extinct but municipalities are the largest waste disposal agency. to ignore them is correct?

veenanagpal Extinct carbon credit scheme is a grt idea. EEP is currently working on a Paryavaran Yoddha scheme

veenanagpal No way we can ignore the Municipalities - their work undone screams for attention all the time. Can we get them to do some work for a change

commander I am unable to hold the net and hence signing off.

veenanagpal commander saab, how about one for the road?

shashi Commander good to have you on the chat

extinct it is not correct that municipalities do no work. they quietly make whole cities work, i cannot say about ND but Mumbai? what do u say, commander?

veenanagpal hi tiger kid, how about joining us quickly

extinct we need to educate the municipality, not the richie rich flat dweller kid in school

veenanagpal Okay that's one great idea - can we arrange a workshop/Seminar for the Municipality?

shashi well extinct in Delhi so called elite schools changed mindsets of kids and their families on Diwali dhamakas alright

extinct veena you must be joking. workshop seminar is for MVAs. you need to get real if you need to work with reality

veenanagpal At EEP we are trying to educate children -rich and poor - from pvt schools and govt schools - sometime rich kids have very little civic sense.

veenanagpal Yes children have also done much to convert people to organic Holi colours

extinct about rich kids and diwali, - the whole problem was with rich kids. at the prices of fireworks, most of India hardly lets out a whimper

shashi I personally do believe that the next generation are doers though that does'nt absolve us from doing our bit

Arjun Jassal arent we missing the point some where??

extinct veena, you want to have seminars for sweepers and you are happy that the Modern School kids use organic holi colours. do you think you are relevant?

veenanagpal can we get to waste management,?

shashi Thanks Arjun for pointing that out . Let us get to work and contribute whatever way whatever channel we can influence

extinct have we heard of the story of the fair?

extinct of the fakir?

shashi Back to Waste Management - Media, NGOs, Civil So ciety, Schools, Colleges, Corporates CSR

extinct he lost a coin in a dark spot. but he looked for it under the street light because it was better lighted there

extinct similarly, shashi would like to do what he can, whether it is relevant or not

extinct sorry shashi, but i thought the chat should stay relevant

shashi Extinct I agree Municipalities and all waste managers need to be roped in as much as opinion makers

Arjun Jassal guys this is really spiralling out of control!!!

extinct they are not opinion makers, they are the doers

veenanagpal I think we've all had our say really, we need to give it a thought and see if we can get back to each other with some kind of action plan