Kachraa hai kacharaa , kacharaa hai kacharaa ......

‘The waste pit is saturated, we need to have another pit’ – I reminded Anil couple of weeks back when I had actually started writing this piece. And then I decided am not going to write anything on this topic at all .. why waste time on Waste I thought .. .. We have been very conscious about managing waste at home – In Bangalore everyday corporation rickshaws used to come to collect Kitchen and other plastic waste which we used to keep separate. When we came to Trivandrum, we continued the same , the only difference , we had space in our rented place to dispose the kitchen waste – and we started planting vegetables (Bhindi, Baingan) And now at our place we have plantains, and occasional seasonal vegetables to dump our kitchen waste. But plastic waste was always a challenge. Then the rule of no plastic Carry bags came a year back , before that also we used to avoid taking Carry bags from shops where ever possible (And shop keepers used to give a  surprise look)After the rule we ensure that we always have some or other Jhola in our scooter/car where ever we go, and I always carry my cloth Jhola when ever I go for a walk  But then I realise its only the ‘Carry bags’ which we are able to avoid.

Any thing you buy these days comes packed in plastic covers, where do I dispose those ? These days the corporation is also not taking the waste as we have ‘Waste dumping’ issue in Trivandrum (And I guess the problem is there in other cities too) and when I think about it its absolutely unfair that we dump our waste in some other location declaring it as waste land – and same ‘we’ will protest if any land near our residential area is used for collecting or disposing waste ….. How do we get manage non degradable waste ?

The place where I go to buy vegetables ‘Horticorp’ there everything is packed in transparent plastic covers – though they don’t give plastic Carry bag but even 100 gm green chilli is packed in plastic cover – I got tired of collecting these covers and once in a while knowing its hazardous to burn plastic I had no other option but decide to burn , then one day I decided that I will put the vegetable in my bag and leave the covers there which they can reuse – but to my disappointment , the lady at the billing counter said that wont reuse the plastic covers ! and that I can leave the plastic covers there but they will dump it somewhere … I decided not to leave the covers there, but still have not found any alternative and the heap of these plastic covers is increasing at home ….

Think about it – Atta, Rice, all masalas small or big cover, noodles, shoes, clothes, oil,salt sugar, pulses,

scrubber, soap, sauces, pickles, napkins, detergents, soap,milk,meat anything you can imagine all comes covered in plastic wrap … sometimes I wonder why cant the shop keepers send the empty covers to the Retailer/manufacturing company  … cant the cover be reused/recycle is there not better way of dealing with these covers … In 80’ and pretty much till early 90’s I remember we did not have so many plastic wrappings – Rice and Atta you will get loose which you will collect in your own bags (usually cloth ) and then transfer in the big Biscuit Walla dabbas , Pulses and masalas would be wrapped in Newspaper in the conical shape , you had separate basket/bags for buying vegetables and poultry product … I know we did not have big supermarkets like what we have today , but am sure if these big Retailers decide and have the will they can do something about the plastic bottles and the covers ….

I have been following people/groups who are involved in using/recycling waste to productive things , like organic/kitchen waste to compost, plastic bottles for making flowers and decoration pieces, old clothes for jewellery and ornament, carpets, rugs etc, but frankly I find most of such products priced towards the higher side – eg Khambas – earthen pots used for making compost (I think they are priced around 2K) , the one made of plastic is around 1500 , last year I bought Ear rings made of waste cloth and that was around 150/- , though I love the creativity which goes in the patterns and design , but if you really want more people to use and appreciate the good thought and will which goes in such products you need to target the larger mass and make it more affordable, or atleast give them options where they can get things done themselves in lesser price.

When I see the links of these company or product, they seem to have been targeting the ‘Up market’ crowd

where it becomes more of style statement and then things become even more expensive. Look at the way Khadi products have become so expensive –  10  12 years back I could get a Khadi Vest coat (same as in the picture) from Rajasthan for 100/- now I wonder if I can get the same thing even for 1000/-  I am ready to pay the weaver directly for whatever price they ask , but shopkeepers/retailers …– I know one cannot go to villages and weavers and potters directly for all their needs, but all I am saying is most of the time things (Eco friendly,environment conscious)  become too expensive at shop and I doubt how much of the profit actually goes to the people who actually make/produce it … organic food, other eco friendly clothes products  But this is another big topic altogether ….what I am concerned about is the Plastic in our life and how to reduce/avoid it …   As I said I had started writing this couple of  weeks back and decided not to write , who is bothered about the Waste … then I happen to see a video and I knew I cannot ignore ……