Sankranti is nearly upon us, and it’s only appropriate that the harvest festival celebrations take on a greener hue.
While households, and even shops nowadays, are getting ellu-bella — white sesame seeds, jaggery, dried coconut, roasted peanuts and gram — ready, experts in the solid waste management sphere caution against the excessive use of plastic covers to pack this mix in. With sakkare achhu or sugar candy and a length of sugarcane, these are distributed to neighbours.
Sandhya Narayanan, member of solid waste management round table, says disposable material like plastic covers should be reduced. “Instead, use plastic containers or cane baskets.”
Paper or jute bags are other alternatives. Local markets, like Gandhi Bazar and Malleswaram, have already caught on and are selling tiny earthen pots.
Subodh Yadav, Special Commissioner (Solid Waste Management), BBMP, says, “According to Horticulture Department’s instructions, we will channel sugarcane waste as manure in public gardens.”