When my husband and I set up home in Delhi a few years ago, we were shocked by how much trash our two-person household generated. We used to spend a good part of our morning waiting for the garbage collector, and walked past several garbage dumps to get to work. This motivated us to find better ways to deal with our waste. So, we dug into our trash.
Eat and grow
First, we tackled the kitchen’s wet waste. We started learning about all the edible parts of fruits and vegetables and incorporated them into our cooking. Potato peel chips, watermelon rind sabzi and juice pulp crackers are some zero-waste things we love to cook and eat.
For our remaining organic waste, we decided to start composting. It wasn’t something we thought could do in an apartment with minimal space, but a friend told us that we could easily recycle our kitchen waste at home. So, we started with a 20-litre indoor composter on our balcony. (Terracotta pots or plastic buckets work too!) It became a daily routine to add kitchen waste and dry leaves or twigs to the composter, and to give it a stir once a week. We also added some buttermilk to introduce microbes to aid the breakdown of organic matter. This took five minutes a day, and the smelly waste we used to toss out turned into organic manure in just 45 days!
Now that we had a steady supply of rich, organic compost, we sowed seeds from our kitchen and propagated fresh herb cuttings, sourced from the vegetable vendor or a friend’s garden. Coriander, basil, chilli, spinach and tomatoes now grow happily on our balcony.
{{/usCountry}}Now that we had a steady supply of rich, organic compost, we sowed seeds from our kitchen and propagated fresh herb cuttings, sourced from the vegetable vendor or a friend’s garden. Coriander, basil, chilli, spinach and tomatoes now grow happily on our balcony.
{{/usCountry}}Small changes, big rewards
Next, we looked at our grocery shelves—where most of our plastic waste was coming from. We started getting our dabbas filled with groceries at the local kirana store, and stocked up on packaging-free snacks like popping corn, sun-dried potato chips, roasted chana and makhana. Buying in bulk has helped us reduce our waste significantly and whatever paper, glass, or plastic waste we still generate, we segregate for recycling.
Finally, we got to our bathroom shelves. We started making laundry detergent and shampoo with soapnuts (reetha). We also make bio enzyme with citrus peels, which is an excellent multi-purpose cleaner that we use to clean counters, windows, and tiles. It takes care of grease, odours, and limescale, and smells great! The enzyme also replaced chemical cleaners we were using to clean our floors. Since then, we’ve noticed a huge improvement in our dog’s skin issues.
Looking back, we never imagined that so much of our waste could be kept out of landfills, just by making small changes in the way we buy products and consume them. Taking it one step at a time is what makes this journey sustainable.
Radhika Agarwal is a photographer who is passionate about urban farming and sustainable living
From HT Brunch, December 12, 2021
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