Food or other biodegradable waste will not be a problem if one bothers to keep a pipe or a vermicompost unit at home. The challenge posed by plastic waste can also be tackled by collecting, cleaning and periodically sending them to recycling units collectively by a residential forum.
But what about the diapers and sanitary napkins used by kids, women and patients? Disposing them in a proper way is quite a headache.
A resident of Vengeri here has come up with a simple solution. If improvised properly, it can be a relief to a large number of people, especially in the city areas. E. Babu, a welder who developed the device, calls it a “mini-incinerator.”
He has been using it for the last few weeks to incinerate the diapers used by an ailing member of his family. Mr. Babu, a member of Haritha Residential Forum here, developed the device with technical help from Babu Parambath, a zero-waste-management expert.
A mini-incinerator can be assembled “very easily” using a few tin sheets or even from a discarded tin container with the help of a welder, he says. According to him, it will cost only Rs.1,000 even if one has to buy the necessary materials for it.
Once it is made, used napkins or diapers can be burned inside it without any hassles. “The only limitation, which can be overcome by making proper improvisations on the unit, is that the waste (diapers and napkins) should be at least partly dried out by exposing them to sunlight before burning them,” said Mr. Parambath, who is also a member of the NABARD-aided farmers’ club. Ever since it was developed, he burns the diapers once in three-four days after reducing the water content in it. “It is such a great relief even though we have to dry them before burning them,” says Mr. Babu’s wife Prabhitha
