subject: How can I help my neighbourhood? [print this page] From articles on Banashankari written at http://www.hasayana.net
I still remember the days when I used to visit local Shandy With hand oven wire bags. Nope, we didn't have the advent of plastic bags as much then. It was a small and efficient township.
Now, I don't have a proper shopping bag at home. Why would I need one? Just drive down to the mart, they dump the items in several plastic bags, drive bag..as easy as it gets. The after effect of the shopping is bit of a nightmare though what with Plastic strewn all over the hall. I do take a lot of pride in a well kept house. I have a large bin to dispose of all my garbage, plastics, cartons and the other wastes.
The other day I was on my regular walks. Instead of the usual road I took a turn. I came to this village that must be behind our apartment complex. The stench there left me gasping. I asked a street vendor "Why is this place so dirty?". The answer that he gave made me disappear from there immediately. The stench was from garbage collected from our apartment complex. There were plastics thrown around, lot of garbage piled up and I guess I saw a broken computer monitor!!!
I then decided to go back to basics. Taking a baby step, I got a good shopping back for myself. All the local grocery is now done with this bag. No more plastic. Of course I can't help it at marts where they don't allow my bag in.
The next baby step was to sort out the garbage at source. I split the categories into bio degradable, hazardous/ewaste, recyclable and miscellaneous. Well, the garbage collector does give me a weird look, but this is more about self satisfaction you know!!
Further, I have got myself a eco architect for my house under construction. Idea is to construct a eco friendly house which is energy efficient. The list goes on and one... the bottom line is, none of this actually cost me anything. Neither time nor money.
I now hear that there are a few initiatives planned by the government on this line. They plan to use the plastics for road construction and the degradable waste for energy production. I would say way to go...kudos to the government.
