Guide to Your Sustainable Life: Chapter II
Zero waste
How much waste is there?
India generates 62 million tonnes of waste each year. About 43 million tonnes (70%) are collected, of which about 12 million tonnes are treated, and 31 million tonnes are dumped in landfill sites. These landfills seep toxins and unsanitary chemicals into our water and earth. We use the same water and earth to grow our food and it ultimately affects our day-to-day lives. We need to know and practice a lifestyle that doesn't end up having a long-term effect on our own health. Zero waste living is an achievable concept where we manage the waste that we create and avoid sending trash to landfills, incinerators, oceans, or any other part of the environment.
Art Installation: ‘Plastic ocean’ at Sasoon docks, Mumbai by artist Tan Zi Xi. (2021)
Reality: Bhalswa landfill—62 meters high
What is a zero-waste lifestyle?
Zero waste (def.): According to the Zero Waste International Alliance (ZWIA), Zero Waster is the conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and, recovery of all products, packaging, and materials, without burning them and without discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health.
How to acquire zero-waste living?
1. Eliminate single-use items (Reduce): eg–Paper cups, plastic plates, bags and containers, straws, q-tips. The energy consumed in manufacturing these items is disproportionately more than the purpose they serve for a short time and for the time they take to decompose in the earth. Stop buying single-use items and if you have them at your home, reuse them or repurpose them. Replace single-use items in your life with durable and recyclable materials, as only 9% of plastic waste gets recycled.
2. Segregation of trash: Waste management is a massive problem each country faces. Landfills and Sea pollution are the result of poor management. Although it is all a big problem to handle it all starts at our homes. The minimum separation of waste from our homes would be dry and wet waste. Recyclable, electronic, sanitary, and hazardous waste are the further divisions. Although we have to throw away dry waste every day, wet waste can be managed at home by composting at home. E-waste can be taken away by some agencies to the right places to treat them and they have home pickup. I’ll attach some helpful links.--
Daily Dump Composter— https://www.dailydump.org/collections/home-composters/products/khamba-composter-terracotta-stack-home-compost-bin
Kuldeep E-waste collection— https://ewastekuldeep.com/
Solid Waste Management Pune corporation— https://www.pmc.gov.in/en/swm
3. Bulk goods: Buying regular groceries in smaller containers each month for example– shampoo bottles, oil and condiments, tea bags, cereal packets. You can make a list of things you need regularly and buy either bigger containers or source it from a sustainable brand with less or no packaging. Use fresh and locally sourced ingredients more than imported and preserved items.
4. Vehicles check: We always overestimate the health of our cars and 2-wheelers, if it’s running it’s fine but we unknowingly help the air pollution to go up. Regular checks and PUCs will get the carbon monoxide release under control. This will reduce incomplete combustion of the fossil fuels which benefits the individuals as well as the cities.
5. Green options: Subscribe to email bills and statements rather than home-delivered prints. Choose paperless transactions. Use digital aid anywhere possible. Not only do you save the trees but unnecessary printing efforts. This might include opting for an emailed light, phone bill, and digital lockers for documents.
I hope you acquire at least some of the practices mentioned above though all are possible to execute. Check out Chapter I of this series in the blog section in which I discuss what sustainability really is.
Let me know if you know more. If you have any questions or comments, do send a message.
See you next time :)
