Gurgaon: When the most successful business models rest on it, why can't a civic problem everyone is struggling to solve?
If the city is to get past the garbage problem that besieges it, it will have to look beyond template, one that has anyway not worked. It'll have to innovate.
And so, in this campaign where we have tried to put in the public domain all the best ideas and practices that different societies in the city have come up with to manage household waste better, we thought we would highlight innovation in waste management as a separate category.
After our jury assessed more than 100 entries we received and made physical visits to societies to rank them, we have the three best practices in the innovation in waste management segment — Central Park, Hamilton Court and DLF Belaire.
This is the third category we are announcing today after best waste segregation practices and outstanding compost initiative. In the coming days, we will also announce who the best performers are in the environmental impact and sustainability category.
Innovations in waste management are essential for creating sustainable cities and reducing the environmental impact of garbage. What better example than Gurgaon, which has ended up with a landfill in the Aravalis, which contaminates the ecology and often sends streams of copious leachate into the surroundings. Locals in Bandhwari have for years complained of health problems.
Central Park has perhaps the best recycling example, largely cutting down on the waste it needs to send out of the compound for processing at a landfill. The RWA here uses an electrical shredder to cut horticulture waste and make inhouse organic manure for gardens and use by residents. "We relocated 10-15 large boulders lying discarded since 2005. In 2022 a crane lifted and relocated these as decorative rockeries and landscape features within the green spaces. Basement workstations of support staff have been upgraded with new and many old pieces of furniture discarded by residents. Through recycling and redesigning by inhouse carpenters, new cupboards, lockers, tables, etc have been built," said Amita Sarwal, RWA member and portfolio in-charge, horticulture and miscellaneous projects, at Central Park 1.
Hamilton Court's RWA has started a unique initiative to recycle paper. "We launched a project named Firki, which was on waste paper management. We requested residents to segregate paper waste and not to throw it in the regular bin. We gave them bags because we need huge bags to keep paper. So people started throwing everything which is paper there. Once a month, collection was done. The paper was weighed and sent to recycling and in return for that paper, we got notebooks. And we started giving those notebooks to schools and NGOs, schools where parents didn't have money to buy notebooks for the kids," said RWA member Shelly Khanna.
Proactive measures like these can be a model for other communities to follow.
Teamwork is key. One piece of paper, for example, won't make a difference. But one every day, done by many, will bring in sweeping change.