By R.Swathi
Residents of Kasturba Nagar Association (ROKA) conducted their 8th edition of the waste collection drive on Jan.6 and 7 at the Kasturba Nagar Residents Association Hall and Chennai High School, Kamaraj Avenue, Adyar.
Like the earlier edition, this edition too showcased new ideas for sustainability at the venues. “Apart from collecting waste, ROKA feels that we also must showcase alternatives so people are aware of them and contribute to reducing plastics,” said Janani Venkitesh, Secretary of ROKA, as she introduced the refill truck concept, thrift store and ‘Nilayaan’ a sustainability solutions provider for kitchenware and composting.
ROKA partnered with Wasted 360 Solutions, Recycle Mart and Bisleri for the drive and collected clothes (including undergarments), e-waste, pens, empty tablet strips, X-rays, footwear, mattresses & pillows, toys and books, bags, glassware, hard and soft plastics and pictures of deities. Wasted 360’s refill truck was a unique concept that offered handwash, detergent, floor cleaner and dishwashing soaps to interested people, with a catch that they bring their own bottles. “The basic concept is to reduce plastics. These liquid soaps always come in plastic containers, thus with the refill truck, we are giving an option to people to bring their own container and refill the soaps,” explained Janani.
The thrift store displayed many fabulous dresses apart from books and toys. While the book genres ranged from fiction to children to management, toys included Mindbender games, puzzles and collectables like the Quidditch ball from the Harry Potter series.
Nilayaan too gave an overview of the available sustainable kitchenware – cutlery, bowls, glasses, toothbrushes and flasks. “Coconut shells are not biodegradable. Due to their enhanced shelf-life, they can make amazing bowls and glasses,” explained Deepesh as he also showed a variety of composters – for apartments and homes, apart from another specifically for pooja flowers.
The two-day drive was packed with not only individuals bringing in their waste but also institutions that gave away products – a catering company gave away more than a hundred porcelain plates and saucers, a boutique gave away clothes and a hotel gave away cartons of glass bottles. Other items that came in were: iron tables, CRT TVs, washing machine drums, bestseller books including the Asterix and Oblix series and Tintin series etc.
Some of the residence communities, like CeeDeeYes Velachery, Karpagam Gardens and Nawab Gardens collected waste in their locality and sent it through logistics providers. The event saw a footfall of more than 400 people and collected around 10 tonnes of waste.
At the event, representatives from Bisleri also recognised ROKA members for their efforts in the ‘Punch the Plastic’ initiative. ROKA has partnered with Okapi Research and Advisory (an IIT Madras incubated company) and Bisleri to collect single-use plastic and multi-layer plastic (MLP), from residents of Kasturba Nagar, for recycling. The initiative was started on Oct 11 and till December mid, the neighbourhood collected 21 kgs of plastic.
ROKA thanked all the participants, the Corporation and the volunteers from Loyola College’s MSW department, for their support.
