T. Nagar is a shopping hub as well as a major generator of wastes. Littered roads and overflowing bins have become a part and parcel of our everyday lives.
Waste generation seems to increase by the day. And we seem to be looking at our waste as others’ responsibility. This scenario prompted me and my husband, N. Sriram, to take up waste management through Samriddhi Foundation in 2012.
Our mission was to create awareness among people on the waste generated by them and to motivate them to look at their waste as their responsibility and also as a resource.
The first step was to create awareness among people on the waste component and how to deal responsibly with waste.
Pamphlets were distributed in parks, beaches, temples and gradually efforts at creating awareness were extended to the residential areas in T. Nagar.
To validate this, we did a street-wise survey of T. Nagar (north) and compiled detailed information on possible solutions that could bring about a more sustained solution to a clean, litter-free and healthy T. Nagar.
As we went about creating awareness, we faced many hurdles. Very often, only 2% of the people would turn up for the meeting. Undeterred, we kept doing our job.
Common reactions: “I have no time”, “It is the government’s responsibility” and “My other flat members don’t do it, so why should I?”
Our answer would be: unless our waste is seen as our responsibility this mammoth task cannot be undertaken successfully.
Otherwise, all the health issues arising out of unorganised waste disposal will continue.
We have done more than 200-250 workshops/ training programmes for resident welfare associations, schools, institutions on source segregation and composting till now.
(Meenakshi is a resident of T. Nagar.)
