But This Makes So Much More Sense

Why don’t we apply simple, basic principles and methods in our lives which will make our individual lives easier and benefit the community as a whole as well? There are small things each one of us can do in our daily lives which will help resolve the big issues faced by humanity, globally.

Waste management is a difficult, expensive and time consuming activity for any city, country or the world. Straightforward and effortless things like separating organic waste from recyclable waste can absolutely eliminate the need for any management of waste at all. Every household, rural or urban, can dispose off all organic waste into their pots, gardens, farms, society compounds, or common pits. This not just eliminates the need for garbage collection and disposal, but it also enriches the soil in nutrients and reduces the dependence on harmful chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The philosophy is as simple as returning to the soil that which you have taken from it. The same logic is applicable to all dry leaves falling from trees, dying plants, trimmings of trees and plants on account of pruning, straw collected from harvests and so on. Instead of burning these carbon and nutrient containers and releasing all that carbon dioxide into the atmosphere you simply fix that carbon back into the soil. Recyclable wastes like paper and plastic directly go back to the factories and get reused. This enables us to reduce the pressure on resources as well.

Any land fill today, is nothing short of a live biogas plant. And thus, fires are common in land fills. By following this elementary segregation at individual levels, we can rid ourselves of these fires, of the diseases caused to people living near land fills, of the problem of loss of soil fertility, of the enormous expenditure and effort involved in the entire process of collection, transportation, disposal and maintenance of garbage.

A variety of fruits and vegetables can be grown in small garden plots, pots and backyards. Instead of planting ornamental and flowering plants, many of us can grow our own vegetables and fruits at home. The rich soil created by our organic waste will result in good yields without the use of chemical fertilizers. The absence of monoculture along with a healthy soil also reduces the number of pests thereby, eliminating the use of pesticides. So we not just improve the quality of our soil, we also improve the quality of the food we eat. Moreover, growing our own fruits and vegetables where ever possible, helps reduce the pressure food supply which is a grave problem of our times. And above all, the joy of growing and consuming your own produce is incomparable. This method has been applied in countries like Russia and Cuba successfully where a major portion of vegetables grown in the country are grown by individuals in garden plots.

Waste water management is another area where a real difference can be made by individual mediation. Waste water can be separated into black and grey water at the initial level itself. Instead of mixing all the water into one pipeline and making it useless, sewage water (water from the toilet), drainage water (water from the bath, the sink, the dishes, the laundry) and rain water can be separated and treated accordingly. Rain water goes straight into the ground as it is and replenishes the aquifer. Drainage water can be sent into the backyard or garden or society compound or nearby public garden after basic filtration or can also be sent to the aquifer. And sewage pipelines go to the biogas plants and generate energy which can then be returned to the very population who helped generate it. This segregation of water is being practiced successfully in some Scandinavian countries.

Similarly rain water harvesting, which is an extremely easy and cheap activity can be applied. All the rain water collected on terraces and roof tops and parapets can be channelled through a single pipe into the aquifer. This will strongly help the depleting water table. And this simple saving helps us address our problem of acute water shortage.

It is plainly about inculcating these practices and habits in our daily lives and enriching our lifestyle while resolving our problems. Public involvement and government inclination can help plan and develop entire cities, villages and countries in these healthy and efficient and practical ways. We just need to recognise the need and importance of taking these measures. We just need to understand that each one of us can make a difference – a big difference by doing these tiny little things.


Originally published on 2009Countercurrents.org, 17th March 2009.