27 Oct 2008
07:31 pm IST

‘Reduce, recycle, reuse’ – was the mantra for managing waste up until now.

Do we need a car to go for a haircut or to buy vegetables from a shop less than a kilometre away from home? Well, on Sunday early morning if you asked this question to a person who has woken up with grumpy face and groggy eyes then one would surely answer in affirmative. A brisk morning walk would be good for health, an environmentally conscious person would try to impress. He’d ask further, ‘What a waste of fuel? Why not reduce your use?’ The point is well taken. Similarly one could see value in recycling newspapers glass bottles, empty milk sachets and old books. Likewise, a child who has just learnt to do origami would insist on reusing those old colourful magazines and make paper rockets, boats and butterflies. We appreciate the pocket change from recycling and a little fun for the tiny tot from reusing.

But the revealing truth is that the 3R’s are simply not sufficient to tackle the waste of a city like Bangalore having over 5 million people producing 0.4 kilogram of waste per person per day. It would still have a lot of waste to manage.

Take for instance the debris produced from construction. A guesstimate of 4 tonnes of construction rubble is thrown into the dumps every day in Bangalore. The problem posed by irresponsible disposal causes pollution and damage to natural resources like lakes, storm water drains and water ways. There is no technology or system available today to recycle all of these. The only possible solution is for the Government to regulate the disposal of this waste and implement the regulation strictly.

Some of the litter can be and must be recovered. Case in point is e-waste. It makes more sense to recover usable parts of mobile phone, personal computers, printers, and consumer electronics.

A number of refuses can simply be renovated. Cars, buildings, furniture, and art can be refurbished and are restored by many. Remodelling, revamping and redecorating can add a touch of colour, charm, and appeal to captivate.

We must promote a multitude of behaviours in people to win this war against waste. As a starter, why not improve this mantra of Reduce, Recycle, Reuse and add more R’s?

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Be the change,
Krish Murali Eswar.
"A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history. Gandhiji."