Dealing with Garbage

In our daily lives, we generate a significant amount of rubbish or garbage from our homes, schools, and workplaces. This includes food scraps, packaging materials like plastic bags and tins, broken toys, old clothes, and paper waste. It is crucial to manage this waste properly, as uncollected garbage can harm us and our environment.

Safai karamcharis (sanitation workers) collect this garbage and transport it to a low-lying open area called a landfill. In India, initiatives like the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) aim to improve cleanliness and waste management across the country.

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Separating Useful and Non-useful Garbage

At a landfill, the garbage is sorted. It contains both useful and non-useful components.

• Useful components are those that can be reused or recycled.
• Non-useful components are those that cannot be easily reused and are spread over the landfill and covered with a layer of soil. Once a landfill is full, it is often converted into a park or a playground, and no buildings are constructed on it for about 20 years.

To deal with the useful organic components, compost-making areas are often developed near the landfill.

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Separating Garbage at the Source

The first step in effective garbage management is separating it into different groups. This can be done at home before it is thrown out. An activity can help us understand which types of garbage rot and which do not.

• Group 1 (Biodegradable): Garbage from the kitchen (fruit/vegetable peels, egg shells, waste food), newspapers, dry leaves, and paper bags. These are materials that rot when buried in the soil.
• Group 2 (Non-biodegradable): Pieces of cloth, polythene bags, broken glass, aluminium wrappers, nails, old shoes, and broken toys. These are materials that do not rot.

The rotting and conversion of some materials into manure is called composting. In many cities, municipalities provide two separate dustbins for this purpose:

• Green Bin: For collecting kitchen waste and other plant or animal wastes that can rot (biodegradable).
• Blue Bin: For materials that can be reused or recycled, such as plastics, metals, and glass (non-biodegradable).

Separating waste at the source is crucial for proper and efficient garbage disposal.

Garbage heap	Observation after 4 weeks
A (Kitchen waste)	(i) Rots completely and does not smell.
B (Plastic, glass, etc.)	(iv) Does not change at all.
C (Kitchen waste in a plastic bag)	(ii) Rots only partially.
D (Plastic, etc., in a plastic bag)	(iv) Does not change at all.

Composting and Vermicomposting

Instead of sending all our organic waste to landfills, we can convert it into useful compost at home. This reduces the burden on landfills and provides nutrient-rich manure for plants.

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Harmful Effects of Burning Waste

Often, people burn heaps of dried leaves and other plant wastes. Farmers also sometimes burn husk and crop remains in their fields. This practice is very harmful as burning produces smoke and toxic gases that are dangerous to our health and cause air pollution. These wastes should ideally be converted into compost.

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Vermicomposting: Composting with Redworms

Earthworms are known as a "farmer's friend" because they help enrich the soil. A specific type of earthworm called the redworm can be used to speed up the process of composting. This method of preparing compost with the help of redworms is called vermicomposting.

How to Set Up a Vermicomposting Pit:

1. Dig a pit (about 30 cm deep) or use a wooden box. Place it in a spot that is neither too hot nor too cold and is away from direct sunlight.
2. Spread a net or chicken mesh at the bottom, followed by a 1-2 cm thick layer of sand.
3. Add a layer of vegetable waste, fruit peels, green leaves, or pieces of newspaper (avoid shiny or plastic-coated paper).
4. Sprinkle some water to make the layer moist, but not soggy. Keep the layer loose to allow for air circulation.
5. Introduce some redworms into the pit.
6. Cover the pit loosely with a gunny bag or a layer of grass to retain moisture.

Caring for the Redworms:

• Food: Feed them vegetable and fruit wastes, coffee and tea remains, and weeds. Bury the food 2-3 cm inside the pit.
• What to Avoid: Do not add wastes containing salt, pickles, oil, vinegar, meat, or milk products, as these can lead to the growth of disease-causing organisms.
• Grinding Help: Redworms do not have teeth; they have a structure called a 'gizzard' that grinds their food. Adding powdered egg shells or sea shells can help them grind their food better.

After 3-4 weeks, the pit will be filled with a loose, soil-like material. This is the ready-to-use, nutrient-rich vermicompost.

Think and Throw: The Three R's (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle)

We are generating mountains of garbage every day. A key part of dealing with this problem is to think before we throw and to adopt practices that minimize waste. The story of Nanu and his cousin Shyam highlights the importance of the three R's.

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Reduce: Generating Less Garbage

The first and most important step is to reduce the amount of waste we generate. This involves being conscious of our consumption habits.

• Avoid buying things that are rarely used and might be thrown away soon.
• Avoid wasteful habits like tearing sheets from new notebooks for fun.
• Carry your own cloth or jute bag for shopping to avoid taking plastic bags from shopkeepers.

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Reuse: Finding New Uses for Old Things

Before throwing something away, we should think if it can be reused. This is the concept of getting the "best out of waste".

Shyam's village was neat and clean because people there practiced reusing old items creatively:

• Making files from old charts.
• Decorating greeting cards with flowers made from pencil shavings.
• Weaving mats from old clothes.
• Making baskets from used polythene bags.
• Creating a diary from old invitation cards.

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Recycle: Making New Things from Waste

Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This helps in conserving resources and reducing the garbage sent to landfills.

• Role of Rag Pickers: Rag pickers play a crucial role in the recycling process. They sort through garbage to separate useful materials like plastic, glass, and metal, which are then sold to dealers who process them for recycling.
• Papier-mâché: This is a technique of recycling paper. It involves making a paste of clay and paper (with rice husk sometimes mixed in) which can be moulded into various objects like masks and photo frames.
• Selling Scrap: We can contribute by helping at home to sell old newspapers, glass, metal things, and plastic bags to a garbage dealer (kabadiwala), who ensures they reach the recycling industry.

Recycling of Paper

Paper is one of the most easily recyclable materials. We can even make our own recycled paper at home from old and discarded paper. This is a great way to understand the recycling process and to create something useful from waste.

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How to Make Recycled Paper

You will need old newspapers, magazines, or other waste paper (avoid shiny, plastic-coated paper), a tub of water, and a frame fitted with a wire mesh or a large sieve.

Step-by-Step Process:

1. Tear and Soak: Tear the paper into small pieces and put them in a tub or bucket. Pour water over them and let the pieces remain submerged for a day.
2. Make a Paste: After soaking, pound the wet paper pieces to make a thick, uniform paste.
3. Spread the Paste: Spread the wet paste evenly on the wire mesh of the frame. Pat it gently to make the layer as uniform as possible.
4. Drain the Water: Wait for the water to drain off from the mesh. You can place an old cloth or newspaper on top of the paste to soak up the extra water.
5. Dry the Sheet: Carefully remove the layer of paste from the frame and spread it on a sheet of newspaper in the sun to dry. You can put some weight on the corners to prevent it from curling up.

To make decorative paper, you can add food colour, pieces of dried leaves, flower petals, or bits of coloured paper to the paste before spreading it on the frame.

Plastics – Boon or a Curse?

Plastics are incredibly useful and have become a part of almost everything we use, from toys and bags to parts of cars and refrigerators. This usefulness makes plastic a boon.

However, the problems arise when we use plastics excessively and dispose of them improperly. This irresponsible usage turns plastic into a curse for our environment and health.

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The Problem with Plastics

Unlike organic waste, most plastics do not rot or decompose. This creates a massive problem for garbage disposal.

Harmful Effects of Plastic Waste:

• Health Hazards: Using low-quality or recycled plastic bags to store food can be harmful to our health. Burning plastics releases harmful gases that can cause severe health problems, including cancer.
• Harm to Animals: Stray animals often look for food in garbage bags and may end up swallowing plastic bags along with the food, which can choke them and lead to death.
• Environmental Pollution: Plastic bags thrown carelessly can get into drains and sewer systems, causing them to choke. This can lead to water spilling onto roads and can create flood-like situations during heavy rains.

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What Can We Do? - Minimising Plastic Use

The most important point is to generate less garbage. To minimize the harmful effects of plastics and deal with garbage effectively, we can follow these practices:

1. Reduce and Reuse: Make minimum use of plastic bags and reuse them whenever possible.
2. Carry Your Own Bag: Always carry a cloth or a jute bag when you go shopping.
3. Proper Storage: Do not use plastic bags to store eatables.
4. Responsible Disposal: Do not throw plastic bags here and there after use. Never burn plastic bags or other plastic items.
5. Compost Kitchen Waste: Use vermicomposting at home to manage kitchen waste usefully instead of throwing it out in plastic bags.
6. Recycle and Save Paper: Recycle paper and use it efficiently (e.g., write on both sides, use a slate for rough work).
7. Spread Awareness: Encourage family, friends, and others to follow proper practices for disposing of different kinds of waste.

By thinking about our consumption and disposal habits, we can make a significant difference in managing the garbage problem.

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