MY ECO- FRIENDLY BIRTHDAY PARTY

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This week we had a Birthday Party at home. I was thinking Vile Parle has a population of is approximately one and half lakh persons. About 10 percent of this being children under 6 years. So, about 15000 birthdays are celebrated every year. The cost of birthday party in a restaurant or party hall works out to be about 25000 rupees (minimum, it can go upto 75000) per birthday. That is parlekars spend about 3.75 crores on birthdays of under 6s every year.

Now if these parties are done at home, to save money, then the major environment impact is through the use of plates and cutlery. If household steel stuff is used, the water used to wash them will be phenomenal 3.7 lakh litres to wash the plates alone. (I am not going into the comparative carbon and water foot print of paper vs steel plates now, more about that in another post later.) The other option is disposables. Each party consisting of at least 25 people- it means about 30 plates, 30 spoons and 60 glasses. This means 4.5 lakh plates, 4.5 lakh spoons and 9 lakh glasses or cups. All these will be sent to landfill if the material is neither recyclable nor compostable. Another source of trash (non recyclable noncompostible material) is cheap decorations...made of plastic, shiny foil, thermocoal (HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU TORANS) and Styrofoam. All these will go to landfill.

 I did not want to add to this dismal statistic while I enjoyed myself. After all Birthday Party is for ‘Tum Jiyo Hazaro Saal’ and I don’t want to condemn that life as a life on a polluted planet. So I made sure that my party was eco- friendly- means both economically and environmentally. This is what I did-

1. Economics- Had birthday party at home and invited only those who meant something to the Birthday boy. No parents, none of my friends or relatives (just to earn social brownie points). SAVED on Hotel charges, travel, taxes, DJ. I was the party ‘host’ and that money was saved.

2. Menu- the aim was to have a process with least impacts and leftovers. I chose to order in- cooking in larger batches saves fuel. I ordered kid’s favourites....so they eat well. I discussed quantities with the caterer to make sure we did not order extra. I got large 2 l bottles of soft drink.....bottles will be used in gardening later.

3. Invitees- Sent personal invites and got confirmed RSVPs so that exact numbers of attendees could be determined....again to avoid wastage

4. Decorations- I used only paper decorations—that went to recycling or compost. Pure latex balloons are luckily easily available in Parle East and they will get into compost bin. Music played with closed windows at moderate volumes to avoid noise pollution. And used natural vapouriser to keep mosquitoes away

5. Cutlery- I got sugarcane and wheat fibre plates....these are easier to home compost than the areca plates which need shredding. But areca leaf spoons as edible spoons are not available in Parle now. Paper cups for juice and water. Half went to recycling and half I retained for making seed starting cups in my garden. Tissues could go into compost bin. I was thinking of labelling the glasses with the kids’ names to facilitate reuse, but I forgot about it. The cost was only about 10 pc higher than the Styrofoam cutlery...already I had saved that much. I used ordinary corelle bowls for serving.

6. Games and activities- We looked up the net and chose group games requiring no props. The kids were very sporting and joined in heartily....lots of fun.

7. Return gifts- Got plastic water bottles that can be cleaned with hot water...much more eco friendly than soap. Wrapped them in kite paper....easily compostable.

8. Gifts- I was happy to discover that invitees turned out to be as thought ful...no duplications. And all gifts were exciting, usable...no cheap china stuff. And that made them eco- friendly

9. Cleaning up- We had minimal left overs. We cleaned up immediately after party in half hour’s time. It was 10 mins job to cut up the cutlery with scissors and put them into my bokashi bin and compost pile. Food containers went into recycling, Ballons into bokashi bin.

No sign of yesterday’s party except for the Happy Faces! Money saved- 75%. Environment impact- minimal. Effort- Minimal. Enjoyment- Full.

Money saved goes into the youngster’s account and awaiting the Birthday compost to get ready!

TREES and COMPOSTING IN AIRPORT COLONY

When we tell people about home composting as part of Swacch Parle Abhiyaan, we tell them to start first with composting of floral offerings (nirmalya). 2- 3 times I was told about larger scale nirmalya composting happening at Airport Colony across the main suburb of Vile Parle East, done by one determined person. This was something! I had to find out who this person is and what is happening!
After careful questioning of a number of flower sellers and particular coconut vendors, I was told that our good Samaritan is owner of a reputed shop in the market. Somehow everytime I went to the shop, he wasn’t there- but identity was confirmed. And one day we met ‘the person’. Mr S is a simple, senior citizen with a heart of Gold and passion for the environment. For the last several years, he has been a regular for morning walks at the AIRPORT COLONY. In his soft and modest way, he told us that he has come to regard the AIRPORT COLONY with great affection and gratitude and also some amount of wonder. That in the midst of a crowded city next to the busy Western Express Highway is a place which is peaceful, pure and provides peace of mind to so many morning walkers, so many of whom are Parlekars. So he decided to show his gratitude by planting trees in the AIRPORT COLONY. He has planted more than 100 trees of different indigenous varieties there. Seeing his zeal, one local person provided him with facility to access water so that he could take proper care of the saplings there.

Soon, Mr G realised that plants also need good manure. He taught a number of flower sellers and coconut vendors from Parle to sort and keep aside their wastes in a gunny. This he would buy from them for a nominal amount and take to AIRPORT COLONY during his walks. He used this material to make compost on site for the 100 trees he planted. This way he facilitated good use of almost 10 sacks of waste per day. Seeing his work, many morning walkers joined him. Helped him in planting, providing saplings, transport of gunny sacks and taking care of plants.

Unfortunately, Mr S had to suspend his activities as some residents of the colony did not take kindly to his activities. But he is not at all bitter about it. His plants are there and they are big enough to take care of themselves. In addition, one person in Parle East has now offered the premises of his bungalow to care out his activities. Associates from SPA who visited this bungalow say the project is really going well. Nirmalya and coconut waste are deposited in pits where microbes and worms do the work. Many pits are used in circulation. Mr S is joined by Mr J in his work here. Mr J is a full time consultant engineer trained at IIT and finds time to do this work inspite of his busy schedule. He has given the concept that waste management project should also look attractive so that people are impressed and join in it. So they have made a fabulous garden around the bungalow. And in Parle itself there are plants giving large variety of flowers, fruits, birds, butterflies- and of course very cool, clean air and beauty to the bungalow.

HATS OFF TO THEM! They are determined to increase the scope of their activities. Mr S says he has decided to give as much time as required for this task- he really believes in serving nature.

A JEWEL IN PARLE

On 27th November, we all members of 'Parle Gardners' Group' had the opportunity to discover a jewel in Vile Parle East.

Mrs Varsha Karambelkar kindly arranged for us to be guided by Dr Lattu the eminent horticullturist. He suggested we meet in 'Sathaye College Garden'. All these years I had associated Sathaye college with scholars, art and culture events and rumbunctious crowd of teenagers, so I kept wondering if the meeting was for a cup of tea and then we would proceed to some place like the University for the actual tour.

We assembled and were introduced to the Sprightly Dr Sharangdhar and I had tough time believing she is several years post- retirement seeing her energy and enthusiasm. After the expected canteen visit....the unexpected part happened right here---just behind the canteen began an amazing collection of botanical specimens. Mrs Renee Vyas, an ardent tree- lover and guiding light to many friends of trees accompanied us. The next 2 hours were spent in seeing a large variety of trees, bushes and herbs. Many of them, I saw for the first time. Time flew by....the collection is really quite incredible.

Any person wishing to know more about trees is welcome here. One has to just take permission (by quite simple process) in office and you are ready for your ramble. A field guide such as 'Trees of Bombay" by BNHS will be an excellent companion- as all may not be lucky like us to get guides like Lattu Sir and Sharangdhar Madam. Even after 3 hours, we had not completed seeing all specimens, which means another visit has to be planned.

A number of rare plants have been nurtured here. Many persons brought up in Konkan, can come and see the common trees of their childhood here- as nowadays trees and shrubs are being removed from native places.

Suppose anyone has a rare plant to donate, this collection will gladly accept and it will be nurtured like a cherished child. Now the institute is planning to have some specialised gardens like butterfly garden. I wish they have a garden with fruit trees as well- so that children can at least see where their favorite fruit comes from.

Parlekars have a jewel in their midst now. All must visit and enjoy its beauty.

REASONABLE SEGREGATION

In one previous post, I had written about segregation into several categories. Firstly, because segregation becomes a habit and one becomes passionate about segregation- so one feels like doing more and more categories of segregation. Examples are cited of some countries where dry waste is to be compulsorily segregated into at least 9 categories. By such extensive segregation, it is hoped that every bit of scrap goes for recycling. However, in all this well- intentioned process, here we come across some problems.

Most important is- even if we segregate, there is no guarantee that the items will not be mixed again during transportation. This is the commonest problem faced by Parlekars. I have met many Parlekars who separate out the wet-dry only to see them being mixed down the corridor by their waste- collector- no wonder they give up on it. Here, segregation fails at the first step itself.

Suppose this step is negotiated- the next challenge is storage of different kinds of dry waste. The average house in Parle is quite moderate sized. Balcony, verandah, utility-space are practically unavailable. In fact most parlekars are habituated to storing even less- frequently worn clothes on lofts or under the divan. Still, maybe, one can find one sq foot place to keep one sack of dry waste, but where will we keep several? An elegant solution is suggested by use of partitioned sack/ bags, or by hanging these bags on hooks. I have tried these methods and it does take extra time to open the bags and deposit the wastes. And sometimes the doors don’t stay in place because the bags bulge with bulky objects.

Still if this step is also crossed- next comes the problem of disposal. The bmc collection van collects in one category ‘dry waste’. Suppose the SPA van comes to your place- then the weighing and storage of different categories is so lengthy and then calculation still further takes time- and one wonders whether it has any meaning at all. Especially because the totally carbon footprint increases as the van needs to make many trips to get the same amount of waste collected. Plus this is really of no use as further segregation has to be done at the recycling centre- because for any sensible recycling- dry waste needs to be divided into 60 types- which none can do at their place.

So! We need to do something called as ‘reasonable’ segregation, which is to be designed specially for every waste management system. It should take into account- storage facility, transport and processing. The simplest segregation strategy is the 4 category strategy which is

1. Organic/ green/ wet/ compostable waste

2. Recyclable/ Dry waste

3. Building materials waste

4. Hazardous waste and trash

FALLING IN LOVE

Soon after moving to this side of Parle, I discovered what pleasure it is, to take a morning walk in the Prabhodhankar Thakrey garden. I started my morning walks in June. Within a couple of weeks, it rained and made the place prettier. A few days later, I was welcomed by a heady fragrance. Upon looking around I spotted a number of medium sized trees laden with bunches of tiny white blossoms giving out the smell. The smell was at once mild but totally mesmerising. I didn’t feel like leaving the garden that day.

I was eagerly looking forward to the walk next day. But the blossoms and the fragrance were gone. It was only a one day show! Everyday I waited for the flowering and it happened once again. It was magical how suddenly one day the tree would be covered in white, to be stripped of this the next day itself. As I walked around the area I saw this plant fairly widely distributed. It grows wild even on road dividers. So I have got myself a sapling from the roadside. Still encountering any tree of this variety made my heart flutter with the fondness of someone in love. I asked so many people about the plant’s details. Finally, I found the answer in ‘Trees Of  Mumbai”. It is a kunti- kamini tree.

Earlier I found peepal to be the prettiest tree. But now I am totally bewitched by the kunti kamini tree. I feel lucky that I live in an area which has large numbers of this tree and that they are actively increasing their numbers by growing wild everywhere. I hope my pot-sapling will grow well.

I still look forward to spotting a new sample and I am really propelled into a state of great happiness when I see the kunti kamini tree. This is nothing but falling in love.

PLANT RESCUE

Every year hundreds of seeds germinate to form saplings. We can see them on buildings, compound walls, footpaths, gardens....particularly in the rainy season. The type of saplings seen depends on the species of plants in that area as well as the bird and animal activity causing dispersal. So in parle the commonest saplings are of banyan, umber, peepal and ‘bor’, vilayati chinch, tamarind, jamun, mast tree, ‘bhendi’ and sonmohur. In fact, most of parle is populated by trees which grew like this. Earlier one would also see mango saplings, but these have reduced somehow. Nowadays due to the planted almond trees gaining maturity, one can also see almond saplings growing like this. In future, I expect there will be a lot more bakul and neem trees as the current trend is towards planting them. I have also seen sometimes saplings of pomegranate, guava on the roadsides.

Majority of these saplings perish. Main reason is the long dry season that follows the heavy rain. Secondly, for some odd reason most saplings crowd around electric poles, road signs and telephone wire boxes- naturally they have to be removed. Thirdly, as soon as parlekars spot anything that is more than a few inches in height, they begin to throw waste around it. The poor sapling gets smothered and dies away. The loss of such large numbers of ready saplings of native species from nature’s nursery is a real waste. So I decided to experiment: I collected few saplings of banyan and peepal and took care of them at home for couple of years. They have now been planted and are on the way to becoming handsome members of Parle. I now came to know, there is a formal movement in urban areas called ‘plant rescue’ which is precisely what I did. I recommend Parlekars to rescue as many plants as possible and this will help to make Parle green at very low cost.

Guidelines followed by me are- I watch the sapling for many days. It should be healthy and have a stem at least as thick as a finger. Very mature saplings are difficult to uproot. Saplings embedded in concrete are difficult to extract without damaging roots, but one must try very carefully. If each parlekar takes care of 1-2 saplings like this, we will have a large bank of ready and strong saplings for plantation. This is important because mature nursery plants cost hundreds of rupees and there is no guarantee of their health. Besides nurseries usually have fashionable plants rather than useful, hardy and local species.

Saplings are like children, if they get good care in early years they become strong a long lived. The saplings occupy very little space and can be grown for 2-3 years in an ordinary container of 5 inches diameter and receiving average care. One must however be careful about pruning it in such a way that the branching starts at maximum height. Because when you plant this tree along a road, if the branches are too low the tree will become an obstruction and also attraction for people to use as storage space. Unfortunately the roots remain shallow and as the sapling grows inside the container, it will need very strong support so that the main stem becomes straight. This will help it to develop a straight trunk. If the trunk is straight, the tree looks very good, does not obstruct and remains stable- not prone to fall as it grows. The sapling should be maintained at home till it forms a woody stem, at that stage it is ready to take on the world.

An added benefit is the oxygen we can get while this sapling is with us. So every year one can collect one sapling and after 4 years begin to search spots for planting them. 

सेग्रेगेशन चे वेड

कचरा व्यवस्थापनातला पहिला टप्पा म्हंजे कचर्याचे वर्गीकरण—याला सेग्रेगेशन असे म्हणतात.

सेग्रेगेशन कशासाठी?

वेग- वेगळ्या प्रकारचे पदार्थ वेग- वेगळ्या पद्धतीने मेनेज करायचे असते. सर्व एकत्र आल्यामुळे त्यांची विलेवाट नीट होत नाही किंबहुना त्यातून विषारी पदार्थ निर्माण होतात. म्हणून पदार्थांचा प्रकार बघून त्यांना वेग-वेगळे ट्रीटमेंट केली पाहिजे. ही शास्त्रोक्त आणि योग्य पद्धत आहे. नाही तर कचरा व्यवस्थापनाच्या पुढच्या प्रक्रियेला काहीच अर्थ राहत नाही.

साधे वर्गीकरण

कचर्याचे सर्वात साधे वर्गीकरण म्हणजे- ओला आणि सुका असे आहे. ओला म्हणजे सर्व सेंद्रिय पदार्थ असलेला कचरा- त्यात कच्चा आणि शिजलेला अन्न येत. सुका कचरा म्हणजे इतर सर्व कागद, प्लास्टिक, काचा, मेटल, ई वेस्ट वगयरे. सर्व साधारण व्यक्तीला असे करणे पुरे वाटते. काही संस्था सुद्धा हेच सांगतात. कारण सुका कचरा नेवून त्याचे पुढचे वर्गीकरण करण्याचे काम तिथे होत असते. पण असे करण्य मागचे दुष्परिणाम लक्षात आल्यावर, अजून व्यवस्थित वर्गीकरण करणे अपरिहार्य असल्याचे पटते...ते असे.

ओला कचरा

कच्चे पदार्थ सहजपणे आणि वास न येता खतामध्ये बदलतात. पण शिजलेले पदार्थ, मांसाहारी पदार्थ आणि दुग्धजन्य पदार्थांचे व्यवस्थापन जास्तं कठीण असते. त्यामुळे ओल्या कचर्याचे या दोन भागात वर्गीकरण करणे अगदी आयडीयल होईल. तसेच पाळीचे पैड, डायपर, ड्रेसिंग व असे इतर पदार्थांना ‘हानिकारक’ असल्या मुळे तीव्र अग्नीत जाळले जाते- (इंसिनरेशन).

सुका कचरा

पहिले तर ई-वेस्ट म्हणजे इलेक्ट्रोनिक आणि विजेच्या वस्तू वेगळ्या करणे- कारण त्यांचे प्रमाण कमी असले तरीही त्यातून विषारी पदार्थ निघून जल, वायू आणि माती प्रदूषित करतात. ते विशिष्ठ प्रक्रियेतून गेल्यावर हे प्रदूषण टळू शकते. स्वच्छ कागद आणि स्वच्छ प्लास्टिक वेगळे ठेवल्यामुळे त्यांचे पुनर्निर्माण अगदी सोपे होवून जाते आणि त्यासाठी खूप कमी उर्जेची गरज असते. शेवटी खराब कागद, खराब प्लास्टिक जसे दुधाच्या पिशव्या, लामीनेट केलेले कागद-पुत्ठे- यातून बरेच प्रक्रिया केल्या नानातरच काही मिळू शकते. सर्व सुका कचरा एकत्र ठेवल्या मुळे स्वच्छ कागद, प्लास्टीकही खराब होवून जातात आणि नुकसान होते. आणखीन एक म्हणजे काचा, थरमाकोल, धातूच्या वस्तू- हे सर्व पुनर्निर्माणसाठी घेतले जातात. यातील काही माल खूपच खराब असल्या मुळे तो पुरला किव्हा जाळला जातो.

वेड कसले?

पर्यावरणाचा विनाश होवू नये म्हणून कचर्याचे वर्गीकरण करण्यार्याला फक्त ओला आणि सुका असे करून समाधान मिळणे अशक्य आहे. वर्गीकरणमागचे विज्ञान समजल्यावर कुणीही समजेल कि वर्गीकरणाचे दोन मार्ग आहेत- एक सोपा आणि दुसरा योग्य...याला या विषयातील अडाणी जण ‘वेडच’ म्हणतील. पण हे वेड आजच्या काळाची तातडीची गरज आहे.

तर आदर्श वर्गीकरण म्हणजे

१.      हानिकारक कचरा

२.      मांसाहारी, शिजलेला आणि दुग्धजन्य पदार्थ

३.      बागेतला कचरा, पाने, फुले, फळ, भाज्यांचे भाग

४.      ई वेस्ट

५.      स्वच्छ कागद

६.      स्वच्छ प्लास्टिक

७.      काचा, मेटल, थर्माकोल, रबर इत्यादी

८.      खराब कागद, खराब प्लास्टिक

९.      बांधकाम कचरा

१०.  मोठ्या वस्तू

११.  कापडे