SWACHH GREEN FORT
One of the thrusts in the Swachh Green Fort Campaign that we launched in our Colony is " Zero Waste" from homes. I wish to share my experience of an effort in this direction.
We generate a good quantum of waste daily in the kitchen at home. It is normally disposed off along with other waste. Frankly, I never bothered about kitchen waste until I got interested in the "Zero waste" concept. In fact, I'm now obsessed with the idea of kitchen waste management. I did some research and also discussed the subject with friends and a few experts. Mr Jose Kurian, a veteran Green Fort resident gave me inputs on home waste composing in the cities and estates in Kerala using PVC pipes placed outdoors partially embedded in the soil. Thiruvanathapuram Muncipal Corporation has been providing such a device free of cost to houses. However I decided to follow the example of another Green Fort veteran, Mr G Swaminathan (GS ) in kitchen waste composting. Among various options, I preferred a low cost device for a small family. I procured Kitchen Waste Composter ( KWC ) 3 stack, a device comprising three stackable earthen ( terra-cotta) pots costing Rs 1200 from Siruthuli, Coimbatore. This coincided with the launch of Swachh Green Fort Campaign, a cleanliness drive in our gated Green Fort Colony.
I took it upon myself to use this new devise. KWC is user friendly and I could learn how to use it efficiently and effectively in a week's time. As an expert said, it is like cooking but it takes several days ( 30-40) to get the final product, the compost manure. GS sent me a photo of the compost produced after 45 days and it looked good. I'll probably get a similar result.
But what I'm more interested is in the march towards "Zero Waste" than the quantum and quality of the compost, which is a "byproduct". In the garbage disposal scheme, SEGREGATION of garbage into categories ( biodegradable, non-biodegradable, toxic etc) is the first step. If we can reduce the waste for disposal by various means and methods, it is all the better. "ZERO WASTE" is a great concept. I realize that it may not be easy and pragmatic to achieve full Zero waste. But I'm certain and now fully confident from my own experience that " Near Zero Waste" (NZW) is very much possible, practical, cost effective and not time consuming. Most households in Green Fort are similarly placed and I do believe it is a concept relevant to them. I wish to highlight the fact that there are different solutions to reduce waste for further disposal, be it kitchen waste or garden waste and convert the waste to some use. KWC is one of the practical solutions.
Brig B K Unnikrishnan
