CHENNAI: It’s easy to read and forget the phrase ‘my waste, my responsibility’ on a billboard, TV ad, or wall painting. But if a Thiruvizha brought the same message to our homes and neighbourhood, would it drive a call to action? Kuppai Matters, a platform of residents, workers’ organisations, educational institutions, and environmental groups, organised Kuppai Vizha at Nageswara Rao Park, recently, for residents of Mylapore looking for ways to dispose and compost waste responsibly.
At 7 am, an urvalam (procession) by members of Alternative Media Centre hit the streets of Mylapore with speakers and drums, informing residents of the ill effects of plastic. By 9 am, 15 stalls, four workshops, a repair cafe, and open mic sessions were all set to drive residents to the vizha.
“We thought that for an issue like solid waste management, which needs to be tackled by participatory action planning, there is no better format than a thiruvizha, which is for everyone. So a group of CSOs and NGOs came together in October last year to talk about de-centralised waste management,” said one of the organisers, Kripa Ramachandran, a member of Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group (CAG).
The stalls at the vizha were all made from scrap, using old saris as shades, and other materials provided by Goonj, a Delhi-based NGO that recycles discarded and under-utilised materials. Organisations and stores like Boondh, Kabbadiwalla Connect, Restore, and Organic Farmers Market Collective, had put up stalls with eco-friendly alternatives to plastic, organic foods, composting equipments and more.
“In cities like Chennai and Mumbai, it is difficult to inform citizens individually about recycling waste and ways to do it. So if apartment associations, or institutions come to us, we will build platforms and put them in touch with vendors and waste disposers directly,” said Pujeeth S of Kabadiwalla Connect.
At a stall by Boondh, an enterprise that works on menstrual health, women with inhibitions to make the switch to menstrual cups watched Sonal Jain explain how to use it. “It’s not just important to work on the stigma around menstrual health, but to also talk about the environmental hazards of using pads, and sustainable ways to avoid it,” said Sonal, co-founder of Boondh.
By noon, crowds were pouring in. People huddled to attend cloth-pad making workshops on one side and watched Alternative Media Centre’s parai attam, and oyilattam that sang of ways to reuse plastic Aarthi Ravichandran, a resident of Mylapore who came to the vizha with her mother, said, “We walked in just to buy compost powder for our pit at home, but we’ve learnt of other ways to maintain it better with just dung and other things at home. No one’s insisting us to buy anything. It’s about spreading awareness of waste management.”