Two years ago, Santosh and her family were ready to move from their home in Dau Majra, a village in Ludhiana district. They could not bear the stench emanating from a garbage dump behind their house. Every time they cleaned it up, garbage would recollect in a heap in a few days. “The problem was that there was no system for people to dispose of their waste,” she says. “People would sneak out in the dark and dump it when I could not prevent it.”
Floodwaters swept more trash from banks into the rivers, further polluting the water bodies.
Early this year, RoundGlass Foundation introduced waste management to Dau Majra, and things started to change.
“Most of the inhabitants had no knowledge of the negative impact trash had on their lives,” says Rajneesh Kumar the man driving the transformation for RoundGlass Foundation. Initially they told him, “We have plenty of good air here, so the burning doesn’t affect it.” One villager claimed,“The trash just goes away, and the air goes back to normal.”
Once aware of their responsibility to their own surroundings, Dau Majra’s population of 790 adopted the RoundGlass Waste Management system. Today they segregate 80 per cent of garbage at source, creating employment for a door-to-door waste collector. Nearly 14 tons of manure is produced every month, and revenues are being generated through composting and recycling.
Santosh is happy she stayed back. The garbage piles have been removed, and collection happens at the composting site on the outskirts of the village. “I feel like I live in a new place,” she says.
Next on the village agenda: improve its environmental credentials by eliminating the use of plastic. The plan involves working with schools and youth groups to change behavior, creating awareness of the hazardous effects of plastic on the environment, and arranging events for disposal of discarded plastic.
RoundGlass Foundation is a 501 (c )(3) organization, EIN: 82-3556226. Gifts are deductible to the full extent allowable under IRS regulations.
If you would like to donate by check please mail to:
RoundGlass Foundation
1800 114th Ave SE
Bellevue, WA 98004