Keep the city clean

Take two straights questions from the title.

Why? How?

Excellent. Simple questions that demand elaborate answers.

Imagine that you enter into two rooms. One, a very organized and sparklingly clean. Another, messy and tarnished. If you were to guess the characteristics of those who live there, would you be able to do it? Certainly, the rooms are so revealing about their owner’s habits and fancies. “Your ambiance defines your persona.” So be it. A city is defined by its dwellers.

If trash on the roads, breeding mosquitoes, and filthy air describes the city, how is it reflected on its citizens? What a clean city affects positively are obvious: health, tourism, water, air, MNC’s… It’s also aesthetically enhanced.

If why has been settled, let’s move onto how.

“There’s too much to say for too little action.” said a wise woman when asked on how to save the environment. Indeed, people go around articulating the need, phrasing steps to protect it, yet very few actually act towards it. What is the percentage of people who make a simple conscious effort in daily life to keep their environment clean and green? Negligible, too partial to make the intended change. And so acknowledge, if one isn’t going to act even in minute levels, no point in pouring over the often repetitive tips on how to make a change.

And so dear reader, resolve to act as you read along!

Break-Up your toxic relationship with Plastics

If plastic’s managed at homes, its presence on roads is vastly minimized.

REPLACE

Bags – Maintain a reusable bag which you can carry around with you. Be it a cloth or jute bag.

Straws – Avoid straws and if inevitable use bamboo or steel or copper (avoid paper straws too as they are lined on the inside with plastic).

Cutlery – Seek reusable cutlery, in case of regular usage, like in the office or a coffee shop, carry along your own cup.

REDUCE

Reduce the packing requirement for purchases you make. Reduce the consumption through every source that brings plastic into your homes. Be like its now or never.

REUSE

Get artistic. Old plastic bottles are your resources. Delve into Pinterest, you shall be able to rightly deny that old bottles are worthless.

If you use well and think deep, most of the things we own are reusable. Look around you. You will know it’s true. Before you throw away something next time, Rethink.

Finally, RECYCLE. Everything.

Garbage War

Everyday garbage disposal is revolutionary in its own way. Take, for example, Indore. The door to door garbage collection there, mightily reduced its presence on roads. Dry waste and wet waste separation made the disposal much easy. And the authorities there decided to take it to next level, and so removed the dustbins, as they also attracted stray animals.

Another successful way is to make compost from the waste products. Having a compost unit, though initially seems a hard task is surprisingly easy to manage and is shockingly resourceful. It makes one almost independent in their garbage disposal process.

Indore, famed as the cleanest city in India, is indeed a role model. New enhanced municipality trucks were designed to enhance the capacity of collected trash. Night cleaning was started in markets, instead of the morning cleaning routine.

Where there’s will, there are always ideas. How about maintaining small dustbins in your own car, so as not to litter streets? Seems tedious. But apparently there are people who manage this with the least of effort, why not give it a try?

Awareness as a tool

Here’s a warm-up activity. Take an oath of cleanliness.

And get an oath from someone you trust.

Feel the pride now. You accomplished your earthly responsibility for the day.

Teach children. Make them the ambassadors of the cleanliness. Let them realize it’s complete importance. Participate in social events and campaigns trying to speak awareness. Indeed there an entire day dedicated for it, 30th of January. Lead if possible community cleanliness drives.

Miscellaneous

Use public transport when possible, minimize chemical usage, shift to solar appliances and batteries, try building your own small garden (the fun’s unbeatable), decrease water wastage. Make your contribution to maintaining a healthy eco-system.

Before we leave, hum the below lines along in your favorite tune.

To keep city Clean, wean away

every mean plastic sheen

and it shall be green!

Pretty little poem to carry in head isn’t it. Next time when you find yourself in an eco-talk, where everyone’s rambling on how to stay clean and be surrounded by green, you go along and sing this little song loud with pride!