I was driving on the outskirts of Delhi today. How much ever
you try to avoid it, you cannot miss the omnipresent garbage, the dirt. On the
side of the road, in the middle of the road, in empty plots. Garbage of every
kind, plastic wrappers, chips packets, plastic bottles, organic waste and
things that you cannot recognize.
Do we as Indians get used to living in the dirt, do we stop
seeing it completely? Does it become invisible to us?
What are the reasons for this all-pervading garbage?
- Do we as a society completely lack civic sense?
- Do we not have the infrastructure for proper disposal and management of trash?
- Do we not care how it affects our surroundings?
- Do some people actually feel that it beautifies our surroundings?
- Are we just generating too much waste per capita?
- Is poverty an excuse? Maybe not, because even posh locales are in the same condition.
What can we as citizens, as individuals, as entrepreneurs
do?
- Participate in cleanliness drives? Is that sustainable?
- Pick up the next wrapper that someone next to us throws on the road in the hope that we can set an example? Maybe too slow?
- Curse the government and forget about it?
- Just write about it?
- It surely is an opportunity; can we make a business plan out of it?
It makes me immensely angry and agitated to see what we are
doing to my country, to our country. And I am sure that many of us share the
same sentiment.
The purpose of this post is not to rant. Neither is it to
criticize. It is to share the extreme unrest that I am feeling. Maybe tomorrow
when I am back to my regular routine, I may forget all about it. All the
frustration that so many of us feel would be wasted if it results in no action.
Hopefully there will be some discussion and some good suggestions coming out of
this.
There is a fire in my belly, some fires are worth spreading.
1 comment:
Hi Kanika,
Got your reference from the 'Delhi startups' facebook page. Let me introduce myself:
My name is Anubhav Kabra. I am 27 years old, working in Gurgaon in BlackRock. I completed by B.Tech. from IIT Bombay in 2009.
I share the same unrest that you've described above with regard to waste and filth. I have had the vision to do something about it for quite a few years but my boring job has not allowed to give me time & energy to do so. However, in the past 4 months, I have researched the field of waste management in India, what problems it faces, what could be the potential solutions, how are the foreign countries doing it so successfully and who some of the current market players trying to bring about a change are.
There are many people and organizations doing their bit in small pockets all around the country. But just because of the vast magnitude of waste generated, there is still tremendous potential in this field. My ultimate vision is to establish a one-stop solution organization for all waste management. But, as first steps, I need to first educate the communities the extremely important step of SEGREGATION (which I am sure you would agree, having seen it in the US). Without segregation, the whole system would continue to fail like it has been for so many years. Once segregated, dry waste can be recycled and wet waste can be composted or used to produce bio-gas.
I visited Sunkalp's website and found it an amazing initiative. I feel so proud and happy when I see bright minds actually applying themselves to solve country's problems rather than sitting in corporate offices and working for the foreigners.
I am not sure, but do you have any ideas in mind as to what else can be done to improve waste management in India? Do you know anyone who would be/is interested in exploring this area and tapping this business opportunity?
Do let me know. My email address is kabra17@gmail.com
Thanks,
Anubhav
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