As India moves toward rapid globalisation and teeters on the brink of becoming an economic superpower, there are unsolved problems that are often overlooked in the name of development. Poverty, sanitation, adequacy of water and employment are just some of the issues that cloud our country’s true progress. One issue in particular has been the bane of Indian society, as well as an unfortunately well known feature of most of our mega-cities and towns—garbage and waste management. Although the government’s ‘Swachh Bharat’ initiative did gather a good head of steam initially, most of us would now agree that over time it slowly turned into eye-wash that only stood for symbolism more than actual follow up and action.
It would, however, be fair to surmise that the blame is equally divided between the powers that be and ourselves. We are as responsible for the bad odour, piles of unsightly refuse and rubbish that we complain about. That’s exactly the thought that drove Poonam Bir Kasturi and her initiative - “The Daily Dump” and it is also the ethos that it is based on. HG spoke to a representative at Daily Dump to get a better understand of what the organisation does.
Composting, is “A natural process that has been perfected by the universe and natural systems in a profoundly evolutionary way. It is about sending your food peels and refuse back to the earth where it came from. You do this by allowing the food to break down, with the help of microbes, insects, air, and heat until it becomes a beautiful dark brown colour”, the team tells us. This simple thought led the team to conceptualize and ideate a solution to India’s burgeoning waste management problems. Daily Dump wanted to translate the idea of composting into a sustainable practice that could find its way into Indian homes, by choice and necessity.
“We wanted to create something that was so ‘ordinary’ that it would fly under the radar of the grandmasters of waste - the municipality, the contractors, the experts and the naysayers. I was willing to accept uncertainty, and ready to participate and learn from the first prototypes in the market with the hunch that the inherent beauty of a natural process and urgency of keeping 60% of what we call waste (which is really a resource) out of landfills will finally find some traction” they said.
And traction it got, as the composting units have found their ways into the homes of 38,315 families. There are several composting units that one can choose from depending on the type of end users they are designed for. Outlining these products in detail, they explain “We have original terracotta kambhas (including the Nano Kambha for young people) that we source from craftsmen who are keeping a dying industry alive, to our plastic composters called Gobble and Chomp for the home, and the Aaga for community composting. We also make beautiful pooja composters for people who want to keep their flowers in a separate container during its decomposition process. We also have leaf composters made of steel or bamboo.”
According to statistics from the Daily Dump, organic waste accounts for nearly 60% of all generated refuse in a city or town—a stat that is more than just eye opening. If people such as you and me were to begin the process of segregation at home, then the job of the government and municipal authorities to clean up after becomes that much easier, translating into a cleaner ecosystem. “When these two categories of the waste stream are separated, it’s so much easier to see all the remaining dry waste as a resource-especially for the ragpickers and kabadiwallas whose livelihood is dependent on this simple step. The other reason it’s so crucial to get organic waste out of the waste stream is that it’s a terrific way to counteract carbon emissions. If you separate the organic waste and compost it, and then put it back into the soil, you’re helping to sequester carbon,” Daily Dump says, when asked about the importance of segregation. The Daily Dump also caters to this segment offering solutions such as the Waste Pit Stop, segregation bags and stands, and paper Saviour Bags to line dust bins, amongst others.
The products that the Daily Dump has to offer have several uses and applications, even for the massive food and beverage industry in India, but that remains untapped. Here too, the company has an idea based on the symbiotic relationship between local food producers and consumers, which in this case are restaurants and hotels. “It’s a great opportunity for the food and beverage industry to partner with local food producers to compost and then share the final product with those producing the food to create a closed loop system”. The solutions offered by the company have been doing well and have found takers in other cities also, but as the team honestly reveals, demand depends on the efficiency and importance of spreading the message of composting. The Daily Dump also provides consultancy and support services in case users are a bit apprehensive or doubtful about the process.
The Daily Dump team have no such plans or offers on tying up with the government but do regularly carry out awareness drives. “We participate in local santhes where we educate Bangaloreans, community by community, about the joys of composting. We are also currently working on several programmes with school children to teach them about the wonders of composting”. It would be fair to say that this initiative will go a long way in ensuring the safe-keeping of the environment and a reduction in the load of everyday waste that the authorities have to handle. Thanks to them, sustainable waste management is no longer a distant dream.
Feature Image Credit — Scarce