Thursday 20 September 2012

You can do it - Home composting



Is it so hard to manage waste at home?

We are visitng our parents in India.Today morning, my daughter and I woke up with runny nose and cough. We felt very suffocated. We did not understand what was happening initially and thought the house was on fire and the suffocation was because of the smoke eveloping the house. After a few seconds, I realized that some things are yet to change - burning of garbage piles in the our neighborhood - Our neighbourhood where many school children, parents, office goers, elederly people walk on the roads inhaling toxic fumes from burning the garbage dumps.

The garbage dump that is burnt - may consist of organic and bio-degradable wastes, recyclable, plastics, medical, rejects and sometimes e-waste such as batteries and parts of electronic gadgets. When burnt, it releases toxic fumes in the environment.

I don't want to talk about whom to be blamed for dumping the garbage in the street without thinking about harmful effects it will have on fellow residents, environment and the locality and why the local municipal council fails to clear/ collect the garbage dump on a regular basis.

 We all know the answer to this probem - Lack of civic sense among some and lack of proper governance in waste management. Both plays an important role in solving this issue.

We, at home can take one small important step to manage the home waste. The solution is home composting and knowing why we need to compost and how to compost.

Composting is the decomposition of plant remains and other once-living materials to make an earthy, dark, crumbly substance that enriches soil. It is a process of recycling your kitchen and garden wastes, and is a critical step in reducing the volume of garbage needlessly sent to landfills for disposal.Composting is not a new idea. In the natural world, composting is what happens as leaves pile up on the forest floor and begin to decay. Eventually, nutrients from the rotting leaves are reclaimed by living roots. This completes nature’s recycling process. (source: dailydump.org)

How many of us do home composting and are willing to compost biodegradable and organic waste which will reduce 50-60% of the waste littering the streets of India and reduce landfill?

 I came across this very good website www.dailydump.org based in Bangalore. They sell home composting products and also conducts workshops on home composting. Composting system can be implemented in the apartment you live, houses and even in commercial buildings. To enable this, there is a need for shift in mindset of the people regarding waste management. A right attitude - a can attitude should be developed to home composting which will help your home, your neighbourhood, your society and your country. If people in developed countries can do it, why not us? Let us take one small step - A step towards home composting.

Some useful inforgraphic from www. dailydump.org:

why manage waste: http://www.dailydump.org/if_your_dont_manage_your_waste

The first step to clean - How to seggregate your waste :  http://www.dailydump.org/node/820.

Everything you need to know about composting in general : http://www.dailydump.org/composting

If you don't want to dig a pit in your garden and manage composting in a pit, dailydump.org sell composting products to suit your different requirements which can be used by people living in flats as well. Please see http://www.dailydump.org/all-products

Free information, infographics that can be downloaded, printed and stuck on fridge and wall as reminders to manage your waste wisely! http://www.dailydump.org/downloads

I know many of you reading this post will think: Why bother?/ I don't have time/ It is not easy as it sounds. So need convincing? Please read this http://www.dailydump.org/need2bconviced

where to buy home composting products : http://www.dailydump.org/where_to_buy

I know it sounds hard but once you start composting and  realize its benefits and your contribution to your neighbourhood and the environment, you will  happy. won't you?

Please share your thoughts on how you manage your waste at home?

Bye for now - Until then, with love from PetalDew.

1 comment:

  1. If more people were into doing this we'd be living on a much greener Earth much more efficiently and quickly.

    -Land Source Container Service, Inc.

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