Source Segregate

Decluttering my bin: My segregation story

by R. Swathi (ROKA member)

Everyone likes to live in good houses - Neat, clean, spotless, organised and presentable. I too like such a house and always strove for it. There was however a small corner of the house that was a dump.

While in school, we have studied how manure is made. Even studied the transformation of leaves into humus and then coal and then diamond over time with pressure. That is the beauty of nature! This had incited me to segregate kitchen waste. But I was still not sure how to do it. 

Many of my friends who were segregating were into composting. But that was not my cup of tea. Being a working woman, I was unsure of committing to composting. However, in whatever way possible, I saved the paper and plastics to be given away to the paper mart in the hopes of recycling. Still, I continued to contribute to the landfill. 

Until... I met members of ROKA. Hearing that I had an option to give my segregated waste to the Corporation for composting was like music to my ears. There were absolutely no second thoughts about it and very soon, I started segregation.

Segregation has solved many bin problems for me. 

• The bin area itself was previously a filthy place - stinky and dirty. But now with everything segregated, none of my three bins are stinky or messy. 

• The bin was also like a pazhum kinaru - anything thrown into it was irretrievable. Since the wet waste is segregated from the dry waste, any bills / paper that go into the dry bins is retrievable. 

• My bin does not fill in everyday. While I empty my wet waste every alternate day, my blue and red bins require emptying just once a week. To avoid any confusion, the bins are not emptied on the same day, but in rotation. So even when my maid handled it, there was no mix up.

• The quantity of things that go for recycling is now higher than before.

• I am now a very conscious consumer and go out with multiple cloth bags in hand.

Segregation is not as complex as it looks to be. The most difficult part is just starting it. Once you do it, it becomes a way of life. Now that I have more or less achieved source segregation, my next goal is minimizing consumption and waste. 

Will you folks also join me in this journey?