Gurugram waste warriors who are setting an example in sustainable living

In late September 2017, five women from the Sector 47 condominium Malibu Town got together to brainstorm how they could better manage the condo’s daily domestic waste. Their low-cost model, which uses traditional compost bins, has become an example residents from other condominiums and individual houses turn towards to manage their waste in-house.

Two years ago, the Malibu Ladies had nothing in common but the desire to create a cleaner, healthier world for their children. Fourteen waste bins and several hundred training hours later, they’re three tonnes of compost closer to that target, not to mention the numerous people they have inspired and empowered with the know-how to ‘go green and clean’ since then.

In late September 2017, five women from the Sector 47 condominium Malibu Town — Laxmi Sharma, Surabhi Rana, Rolly Jain, Seema Vijayan and Gina Krishnan —got together to brainstorm how they could better manage the condo’s daily domestic waste and do their bit for the environment by composting in-house.(Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

In late September 2017, five women from the Sector 47 condominium Malibu Town — Laxmi Sharma, Surabhi Rana, Rolly Jain, Seema Vijayan and Gina Krishnan —got together to brainstorm how they could better manage the condo’s daily domestic waste and do their bit for the environment by composting in-house.

“When we decided to get together, we had no idea how to operate a large-scale compost plant. It took a lot of learning and persistence despite refusals to start something at Malibu,” Krishnan said.

Today, their compost plant has generated almost three tonne of compost from about 200kg of waste collected every day for a year from 1,000 households in the society, and was even recognised by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG).

Their low-cost model, which uses traditional compost bins, has become an example residents from other condominiums and individual houses turn towards to manage their waste in-house.

MCG assistant engineer Pradeep Kumar, who helped them with the technicalities in the initial phase of their project, said, “The five women had to face many challenges during the course of setting up the compost unit. However, they dealt with everything that came their way. They would speak to garbage collectors, supervisors. All of them knew the names of these and their purpose.”

MCG’s Kumar said the women would sit outside offices to meet people for hours every day for every small work. “Everyone came to know of them as ‘the Malibu ladies’,” he added.

The women started by visiting different condominiums in the city to learn about the composting method(s) used. By early December 2017, a plan for the compost unit was ready, but here came the need for funds. “We started knocking on doors at Malibu Town to ask for money. The response was encouraging, unlike what we expected,” Krishnan said, adding that earlier, the general sentiment around the condo was one of indifference.

“People had earlier disapproved of our efforts. The society’s management didn’t provide us any support,” she recalled, adding that their perseverance paid off. The Malibu Ladies managed to get a small space for setting up the composting unit after talks with the condo’s builders. It was decided that Agarwal would manage the money, Jain would look after the technicals, Sharma would be in-charge of raising money, Vijayan would deal with the garbage collection and Krishnan would chalk out the strategy.

Monica Khanna Gulati, an expert in solid waste management and a friend of the Malibu Ladies, said the process of raising funds without support was very empowering for the group and for others who knew of their purpose. “Their approach is very solution-oriented and positive. They are always willing to learn more about composting,” said Gulati, who helped the ladies set up their first composting unit

After raising enough money for one bin, their first composting unit was commissioned on February 23, 2018. “We did a small groundbreaking ceremony at the site,” the women laughed as they recalled, adding that problems arose even after that.

The ‘fab five’ are now planning to install leaf composts at several spots in the condo. They frequently hold workshops for school children where they demonstrate how composting works. “Most schools are very enthusiastic about teaching waste management to students. In the past, people have heard of our compost model through word of mouth and have showed up to learn composting,” Krishnan said, adding that their interest increases when they hear how pocket-friendly the whole process is.