Special Reports

The Green Earth Machine

If you ever wondered if an IIT Kanpur graduate can make a career out of garbage management, you would be surprised now. It might not sound lucrative. However, it is a mission for an inidual who has decided to take up the service of mother earth as a life long commitment.  Asit Nema, who runs his NGO, “Foundation for Greentech Environment Solutions” believes, “Garbage is like a cancer. It can be cured well at early stages through inidual efforts”.
 
He calls upon you to join the “War on Waste.”
 
Tones of garbage to manage
 
Our cities generate tones of waste everyday, threatening public life and health. Yet so far there has been no serious attempt to regulate the proper disposal of garbage. Daily waste generation across the country is of the order of 120 000 metric tones. Delhi, the capital city is not left clean by any measure. It alone produces 7000 to 8000 metric tones of mixed municipal solid waste everyday. According to estimates, garbage generation by the country is expected to double by 2012 and quadruple by 2025.
 
The crux of the problem
 
The problem of proper garbage disposal has of now been acquiring epidemic dimensions. Yet our government and municipalities have not yet woken up to acknowledge the gravity of the menace and take remedial measures. 
 
Municipal waste if not treated and disposed off properly can lead to serious consequences, especially public health. Open disposal of waste is unsafe as it becomes the breeding ground for pathogenic bacteria and viruses which endanger public health. Poor treatment of solid waste may lead to dreaded diseases like dysentery, viral and bacterial diarrhea, gastro-enteritis, typhoid, trauchoma, plague, typhus, salmonella, leptospirosis, filariasis, malariasis, tapeworm etc.
 
Open dumping of solid waste also threatens to further escalate river and ground water pollution and the odour of the stinking waste can also lead to severe psychosomatic health problems. Decaying waste in dumps and landfills releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that leads to global warming. 
 
It may sound weird at the first instance, however open dumping of waste can affect air traffic. This is because garbage attracts scavenging birds. Only recently, aircraft accidents have been reported in which the aircraft was hit by scavenging birds.
 
Lack of resources is the main reason behind the apathy of civic bodies towards proper collection, transportation and safe disposal of garbage. Municipalities are unable to construct sanitary landfill sites as land is scarce and expensive. A large part of the waste is not collected due to lapses in the system. This leads to waste accumulation on road sides and in residential areas. As a consequence of these limitations waste is transported and disposed of in open dumps in the outskirts of towns, along highways, near river banks etc.
 
Home Composting- Promoting Inidual Environment Responsibility
 
Keeping the environment clean and tidy is not only the responsibility of the civic bodies. We all as responsible 'Earth Citizens', need to take up the cause of the environment at our own inidual level. 
 
The Foundation for Greentech Environment systems, has developed 'home composting' as an alternative approach to environment management. Every citizen assumes the responsibility for a clean environment. 
 
The Green Earth Machine
 
The foundation has developed a machine called the 'Green Earth Machine'. Bio-degradable kitchen waste can be collected in this machine on a daily basis, instead of throwing it away in the dustbin. Over a time of three months, this waste gets decomposed into excellent quality organic compost. This can be used in your garden if gardening is your hobby. Besides you also derive pleasure out of the realization that you have done your bit for the environment.
 
The green earth machine is a great invention in itself. It may cost you around Rs.1200 to Rs.1500 and comes in different colours and sizes. It is very well suited to Indian kitchen conditions. Vegetable waste of about 1 to 2 kilograms can be absorbed daily from a typical Indian family. The best feature of the Green earth machine  (GEM) is that it requires no energy, chemicals,   earthworms or bacterial solutions. It works under natural aerobic conditions and transforms the waste into good quality compost.
 
The Road Ahead
 
In its endeavour to promote home composting the foundation is looking forward to set up the India Home Compost Network with committed NGOs and municipalities. He even proposes to give presentations in schools and citizen's groups to popularize home composting. 
 
Asit Nema's war on waste calls for decentralisation of the environmental responsibility from the civic authorities to the citizens. About 500 families in Delhi alone have joined the revolution. Which is waiting to gather momentum. Many families have embraced home composting as a wonderful way to give back to mother earth the bounties it has bestowed upon us.