E-Paper
Waste management: ‘Need to change perception of people from trash to treasure’
PUNE The barrier of living an eco-friendly life is a perception of waste. Unless the barrier is overcome our cities are not going to survive ecologically, says Priya
PUNE The barrier of living an eco-friendly life is a perception of waste. Unless the barrier is overcome our cities are not going to survive ecologically, says Priya Bhide, who will be organising an exhibition on waste management in the city, along with Sunil Bhide.
The exhibition ‘Kutumb Ek, Prayog Anek’’ will be held at Niwara Hall, Sadashiv peth, on November 30 and December 1. Entry for this non-profit exhibition will be free.
Their efforts have been recognised by TERI-The Energy and Resources Institute and were awarded the Green Hero Award recently.
“The project started when we realised that when we bring soil for our gardens from other lands, we are ruining the ecosystem. So, we decided to look for alternatives,” said Priya.
“We live near Deccan Gymkhana and are surrounded by many trees like mango, jackfruit, and jamun (java plum) among others. We observed that each tree sheds approximately 40 gunny bags of leaves annually and this resource which is a source of nutrition for the plants is disposed off as waste. So, we started experimenting with leaf litter and other biodegradable waste to make our green soil from compost,” said Priya.
We will be sharing our experiments about waste with the residents through exhibition, workshops and lectures, she added.
“During this journey, we realized that the main barrier is the perception of residents about waste and unless that mental barrier is broken cities are not going to survive ecologically. To overcome this, we came up with the idea for this exhibition. The aim is to convince residents that what they are discarding is useful and is a source of energy. To show them how it can be transformed into something that will give them pleasure and create an abode for nature in their homes,” she added.
The second edition of the book, ‘Hirva Kopra’ will also be released during the inauguration of the exhibition.
During the exhibition, there will be lectures on different perspectives of the waste problem. Umesh Zirpe of Giripremi will talk about the waste problem in the Himalayas. Shirish Phadtare, director, Rudra Environmental Solutions will give a presentation on “Plastics to Fuel” and Prashant Paranjape of Nivedita Pratishthan will discuss the problem of plastic in our water bodies. Short films will be screened between lectures and workshops. A full-time discussion ‘katta,’ will give visitors a chance to discuss the topic of waste among themselves and with our experts. Other displays will include micro to macro models for composting, posters and message boards, photographs and films.
BOX
Exhibition ‘Kutumb Ek, Prayog Anek’’
When: November 30 and December 1
Where: Niwara Hall, Sadashiv peth
Entry for this non-profit exhibition will be free
Highlights: Green soil initiative, DIY (do it yourself) models of reduce, reuse, and recycle, developing green spaces from household waste, scientific approach to waste management, green roof and heat island effect, synergies between urban waste and soil productivity, live model of brushwood structure (soil and water conservation).
