Life of "Waste"!

Key words: Birth, life, death, “Waste”!

Solid Waste Management is cited as a major problem in our country. Any person living in our country would agree with the same unanimously. There are lots of conferences, high level meetings, conclaves etc conducted every year to talk endlessly about the problem.

The first parts which most of the conferences concentrate on are the dump yards or the Landfill. But in a logical view point landfills are the “End of Life” of our waste. We can say the “Burial Ground” or the “Cemetery”. There are lots of stages which the waste goes through before the waste reaches the landfills. So why don’t we start acting on the waste during its life and not at its death! So let us start teaching our waste from its birth.

Where does the birth happen? Fortunately it is right near us! At our home, office, vehicle, hotel or rather wherever we go! The concept of “Birth Of Waste” (BOW) is amazing! Waste is born, ha! It is more or less like the concept of “girl child” in an Indian family. Except for the really blessed ones like the newspaper, books, metal etc, the others are least taken care and is felt as a burden. So what happens? If a child is not taken care right from his/her birth, it can end up in a mess. The same thing happens with our “waste”. It is undergoing huge abuse during its life. It changes lots of hands. First the “kaamvali” spills the dust and mixes it up with the “dhool” and “mitti”. Then the “kacchdavali” removes them and mixes up with the other helpless creations. The valuable ones get picked up and would be saved by the “raddiwalas” or the “bangarwalas”. But the low level ones are carried to a bigger “home”; the common bins usually kept on the road near the society. There they meet up with other unfortunate lives! Some of them get spilled on the road which ends up in the nearby bush or sewage. Then their life is controlled more by nature or if lucky, by the municipality…..

The ones which ended up in the common bins get a check by the “ragpickers”. They have to show their value to them to be picked up and saved to the “bada seth”. The ones which are not shortlisted have to get ready for more torture of the daggers and rake of the municipal waste pickers or the “ganta gadi walas”! They are taken to the nearby “graveyard” and have to await the punishment! There could be some life savers there also.; the ragpickers in the graveyard. They look through the lot and picks up the selected ones.

If still our waste does not get selected in any of these rounds, it is punished for a deep burial till death! It would be covered by the next lots. The natural waste wouldn’t have to wait for long. The nature helps them to have a peaceful death very fast. That is the “creators” job. But, what about the creations of human? At the burial none of the creator is going to cry or offer a helping hand for them. Their death happens fast if nature helps them with a fire. Otherwise the punishment can last for years long!

Think about these “Wasted lives” of “waste”! Let us save them also! Right from the birth, let us take care of them and pass to the right hands. Lets “ENCORE RE RE” it!