Waste Management Awareness For Shopkeepers At Bangalore
Australian households and businesses use millions of tonnes of paper every year. Over 5.5 million tonnes of paper and cardboard was used from 2006-2007, with 2.5 million tonnes of this recycled. That means that the change we require is possible then why not make it effective?
After taking a stroll down the road of Belthur colony, Bangalore, Nayanika Majumdar from Earth5R Bangalore wondered “Don’t these shops have waste that needs to be disposed? Where do they throw it? Do they dispose the waste properly and as efficiently as they should be doing? “
She decided to take action by conducting a waste management awareness for shopkeepers at Bangalore. On 27th September 2015 Nayanika went over to the shop owners at Belthur colony, Bangalore and interviewed them while raising awareness about the issue of waste management. This community work was done to to help the local commercial sector participate in the protection of the environment.
As Nayanika interviewed the owners she found out they manage their waste well. They regularly dispose of the waste when the BBMP trucks come by to collect the garbage. Nayanika noticed two different cases, first was where the shop owner was well aware of the proper method of waste disposal and made sure that he separated the recyclable waste from the wet waste. The second case was where the shop owner was unaware of this and would just throw all the garbage into the trucks without separating it.
Nayanika proudly congratulated the shop owner that followed the ideal method of waste disposal. She then enthusiastically explained to the other shop owners about the correct method of waste disposal and how this could help the environment.
Many shopkeepers were unaware of the correct method of waste management and understood the consequences. They were quite cooperative and ready to learn. They assured that they would follow proper procedures rightly from now onwards. Nayanika Majumdar also told them about the benefits of proper waste management in two aspects – Environmental benefits and Financial benefits.
She mentioned that if they would sell the cardboard and other recyclable items they could earn money from their garbage. It was surprising to see that the people were unaware of the right waste management concepts. Nayanika Majumdar was glad to have been able to spread the awareness among the shopkeepers and to see that they took it positively with enthusiasm. It’s important to spread our knowledge to the ones who need it.
-Impact report by Nayanika Majumdar. Edited by Vandita Morarka
