Waste Negative Approach Will Bring About A Change On How We Deal With Public Spaces

 There are different consumption patterns when it comes to food, apparels, different things they use in their day to day lifestyle and these are discarded at some point of time as waste. On home front this waste whether dry or wet can be managed, but what about common or community spaces? These are the places where there is a lot of public movement and large people gather and therefore individual behaviour and responsibility becomes all the more important. Some of the community spaces where people gather in large numbers are the different heritage spots like forts, or leisure tourist places like beaches, public parks etc.  Here we most likely see more litter. Although we can advocate and spread awareness, one just cannot keep fighting a lonely battle. There is a new trend coming up called waste negative event. It is a very simple and common sensical approach.

 

What is a waste neutral approach?

Whenever we go to these community or public places or go for picnics or treks, whatever we consume to go to see the place and come back, we should bring back. This is waste neutral event, i.e. whatever you go with, you come back with it leaving nothing behind like waste, discarded plates or any such form of material which can be called by litter .

 

What is a waste negative approach?

If you have some more time and are enthusiastic to see your environment clean, you can very well collect whatever somebody else has left.

 

Why should I collect litter left by somebody else ?

People around you get inspired by the way you do things. So somebody who is inspired and wants to learn from what you have done will do the same and one by one things will start multiplying and inspiration will grow multi fold. One day it becomes a culture of how we deal with our common place. That multi fold effort will automatically bring about a change without blaming others. People will see you how you conduct yourself at public places, they will get inspired and practice the same.

 

At the volunteering events of Adar Poonawalla Clean City Initiative ( APCCI) which are conducted almost on every weekends in different parts of the city, we are trying to inculcate ‘Waste Negative Approach’ which will surely  to bring about a positive change .

 

Sathya Natarajan

Lead Volunteer, Adar Poonawalla Clean City Initiative ( APCCI)