The ugliest part of any Indian wedding is the enormous amount of food waste that is left behind. Starting from food waste and disposable plates, water bottles and cups too contribute to the pile that is dumped on roadsides.
However, former Minister and Kozhikode South MLA M.K. Muneer became a role model for wedding hosts on Sunday by implementing the Green Protocol at his son Muflih’s wedding here.
Green Protocol means no waste being left behind. The model, which was successfully applied by the State Suchitwa Mission during mega events like the National Games, State School Arts Festival, and the recent Assembly election, was being implemented at a private function for the first time in the State.
Officials of the District Suchitwa Mission suggested the idea at the last minute, and the MLA expressed interest, as more than 15,000 guests were expected to turn up for the function. The mission roped in Jabir Karat, who runs an NGO, Green Worms, which specialises in waste reduction during mega events. But it was not a simple affair.
Mr. Jabir trained the serving men in segregation of leftovers at source into biodegradable and non-biodegradable categories. It was further divided into wet waste and dry waste. The biodegradable waste, mostly food leftovers, went to a pig farm, while the rest was composted on site. The non-biodegradable waste, consisting of plastic bottles and cups, were sent to a recycling unit at Thalassery. Use of reusable plates and glasses to serve food and drinks reduced the amount of waste generated to a commendable extent.
“We could have avoided generation of such a huge amount of waste with better planning. Plastic bottles and cups should have been avoided,” Mr. Jabir said. By evening, around 4 tonnes of food waste was generated.
“Implementing the Green Protocol is not a hard task. All that it requires is a little planning. The expense is just Rs.5,000 for every 1,000 people,” Suchitwa Mission District Coordinator K.P. Radhakrishnan said. The mission is pinning hopes on more people coming forward for the green cause.
