In what has been billed as the largest civic action ever inside Auroville, over 600 volunteers cutting across age undertook a drive to clean the premises on Saturday, as part of ‘World Cleanup Day’.
Schools, NGOs, companies, guesthouses, restaurants, cycle clubs, youth groups, horse riding groups, waste management organisations and concerned residents, all worked shoulder to shoulder for the initiative.
The campaign in Auroville was planned collaboratively by Auroville’s waste management organisations: Auroville Clean Up Group, EcoService, Let’s Talk Trash, Upcycling Studio and WasteLess.
An estimated 18% of Aurovillians joined the drive. Litter was collected from the Auroville forests and roadsides.
Waste segregation
At the end of the day, volunteers had cleared about 1,983 kg of trash from the premises. The waste was segregated at source into three broad categories — PET bottles, glass and mixed waste.
The youngest participant was just 3 years old and the oldest was 75 years of age, the Outreach Media at Auroville said. Clean-up groups started collecting and depositing litter from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. at Auroville’s waste management service — the Eco Service.
Besides, upcycled art and installations were displayed and a follow up discussion held with all participants to share the experiences of different organisations working on waste management solutions in Auroville.
In the coming days, the litter collected will undergo a thorough secondary separation to maximise recycling.