Manage kitchen waste, be a green warrior : Actor Dia Mirza
As we live self-quarantined in the wake of Covid-19, actor Dia Mirz urges everyone to compost kitchen waste and help bring down the burden of sanitation workers
A small step can go a long way in reducing the challenges that our frontline corona warriors are facing in this time of crisis. Actor Dia Mirza shared a video on Instagram which she had recorded for World Environment Day last year, in which she talks about how important it is to manage and compost kitchen waste. In an Instagram post Dia Mirza says, “Segregation of waste and composting wet waste or kitchen waste (vegetable and fruit peels, left overs from pots, pans and plates, tea leaves, basically anything that grows from the earth can go back to the earth) as a daily practice is a wonderful contribution towards our society and environment. Consider this, our civic body continues to work to collect our waste and dispose of it responsibly even during this pandemic. Wouldn’t you want to take the opportunity to use this time at home and put into practice reducing the waste we create? This simple daily action will not only help reduce the burden on our civic workers but would also help combat air, land and sea pollution.”
Wondering how to compost waste waste? Here are a few easy tips by sustainability expert Tamanna Sharma:
Once the garbage is collected from all households, a bag of mixed waste that may contain biodegradables that will not only begin smelling awful, it will also ruin the recycling potential of pulp-based waste. So, make sure to segregate waste - one bag with wet waste, one with dry and the final one with medicinal waste.
Label your medicinal waste - sanitary pads, used masks and gloves, medicines etc - and inform the garbage collector about it.
Green waste generates nitrogen and brown waste generates carbon dioxide. All you have to do is add dry leaves and soil in an earthen pot, then put all the waste (except for meat or bones and vegetables that have oil and salt), and cover with soil and dry leaves. Leave it aside.
You can also put vegetable peels directly in a potted plant if they are less in quantity. The nature — sun and air will do their job.
If you want to compost cooked vegetables that is old and extra, pour it into a sieve, wash it well. While washing, the spices and oil will go off. Now, you can compost it in an earthen pot. Oil and salt will attract more insects and cause a problem.
