Embarking on a brand newfangled path, 'Standpoint' aid the voices of the voiceless and assist in empowering citizens' to tell their stories, as they see it, encouraging citizen journalism. Standpoint also addresses the visions, ideas, aspirations, emotions, adventures, and adversities of youth in Assam. The column provides an inclusive space reflecting the social, political, and cultural milieu of the younger generation which comprises a large section of the society. These young Indians' scientific temper and rational voices, narratives, and significant insights will help humankind to contemplate and act for a better future.
By Rituparna Goswami Pande
My household generates a large garbage bag full of refuge weighing approximately about 3 kilogrammes containing bio waste such as banana peels, veggies, eggshells, newspapers, plastic wrappers, glass particles used cups, and so forth.
Every night the garbage bag is kept in the bin in my yard which the garbage collector takes it away in the morning and disposes of in the huge Municipality garbage container. A truck picks the garbage from the container and takes it to the dump yard in the outskirts of the city. That is the end of the journey of my household waste where it contributes to the landfill and adds to the stench that permeates in the entire area of the Municipality dump yard. Stray animals dig around the rotting waste often consuming harmful plastic or hazardous waste which lies around unprotected.
However, the fact that I was contributing to the buildup of the landfill in the garbage dumps and that plastic waste from my house might be harming our aquatic life did not sit easy with my conscience. So I decided to segregate the plastic waste from the biodegradable waste. The bio waste would go to the compost bin on my terrace where it would later be used as manure for my home-growns. But I was unable to properly dispose of my plastic waste. As I didn't want it to end up in the landfill I was on a lookout to deliver it to a recycler. So I made frantic enquiries to dispose of the plastic responsibly, but when even scrap dealers refused to collect them as they were of no use to them I was in a dilemma. Therefore after weeks of collecting the plastic waste I had to reluctantly dump it in the garbage bin, dejected and frustrated with the lack of a proper garbage disposal system. Therefore, the next logical step for me was to reduce my plastic use. Plastic bags are a strict no-no in my house and carry jute or cloth bags for shopping, also I try my best to avoid unnecessary plastic.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) urban India generates about 51 million metric tons of solid waste per year with a per capita waste generation rate 0f 0.2 – 0.6 kilogram per day (2014 – 2015). Often the garbage is burnt which generates toxic fumes which are extremely harmful for not only the environment but for all living things as well.
" The garbage in the Municipality dump yards consists of eighty percent biodegradable waste like vegetable and fruit peels, egg shells etc. These types of wastes can be decomposed at our own households by using the methods of home composting. If we take up this initiative of composting as a civic responsibility, eighty percent of the problem in the dump yards is solved, and managing the rest of the twenty percent of the problem becomes easy for the government. Keeping our city clean wouldn't remain a problem if such a practice is followed in the household level," said Chief Scientist AICRPDA Pallab Kr Sharma.
Sarma stresses on the need of bio composting and states that "compost is the gift that continues to gift". Instead of forever waiting for the government to come up with a solution wouldn't it be proper for the citizens to rise up to the occasion and come up with a solution to at least dispose of the bio waste generated in our homes in our own way. This would reduce the 80 percent of the waste that reaches the dump yards and dealing with the remaining 20 percent would be easy for the municipality.
Vermicomposting is another clean, sustainable, and zero-waste approach to manage organic waste. Also known as worm composting, it turns kitchen scraps and other green waste into a rich, dark soil that smells like earth. The benefits of the vermicomposting are manifold. It provides nutrients to the soil, increases the soil's ability to hold nutrients in a plant-available form, improve the aeration and internal drainage of heavy clay soils, increases the water holding ability of sandy soils, provide numerous beneficial bacteria. If done on a large scale, vermicomposting has the potential to solve the problem of waste disposal to a large extent on a global level.
Furthermore, at the community level if composting is done alongside rivers, it not only enriches the soil but will also check the rampant erosion when planted with plants and trees. It is also a means of self-employment if unemployed youths take up vermicomposting as a profession.
Let's be the change we want to witness around us. Mark twain has summed up perfectly 'the secret to getting ahead is getting started', so let's start composting and giving back to nature.
The author can be reached at ritug_pan@rediffmail.com
