Best Out Of Waste: Indore Artist Makes Art Out Of Trash, Urges People To Reduce, Reuse And Recycle

New Delhi: When a 45-year-old Sunil Vyas looks at something thrown away as waste, he starts thinking about the way that piece of garbage can be utilised and converted into his next art piece. This artist based in Indore, India’s cleanest metropolis, is on a mission to help the city maintain its status. While talking to NDTV, Mr Vyas said that with a little innovation, each person can manage their own waste and that generated by the community one lives in. He emphasises that people can help solve the problem of waste by following the 3 ‘R’s- Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

According to Mr Vyas, a Graphic Designer and an artist, he has been using waste to create art for the last six years. It was after the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission and the multiple awareness generation campaigns organised by the Indore Municipal Corporation that Mr Vyas became aware of the problem of rising waste, especially the plastic waste in the country. He said,

I wondered what can we do about the lakhs of tonnes of waste that we produce every day as a country? Sure, the government has set up many plants to manage waste, but what can we do as individuals? I thought maybe I can use some of the waste I find as part of my art. My curiosity increased and gradually I started creating my art pieces completely out of waste. During different seasons, I go out to collect twigs of different colours and keep those in a box as we keep colours. Similarly, I collect old newspapers, magazines, and plastic from scrap dealers and what is produced at home. One necessary task that each one of us can do easily is to segregate the waste generated at home and dispose of the same sensibly to ensure recycling of what is possible. We must also focus on reducing the things we use in our daily life.

Also Read: India’s Plastic Waste Generation More Than Doubled In 5 Years: Centre

Mr Vyas highlighted that he has created artefacts of celebrities from waste generated by plastic and wooden supplies, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rabindranath Tagore, Raj Kapoor, Nargis, Lata Mangeshkar, Monalisa, Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha. He added that his art piece depicting ‘Dandi Yatra’ with Mahatma Gandhi leading has been displayed by the Indore Municipal Corporation at a prominent spot in the city. This art piece was made using several items, such as buckets, dustbins, tubs, shoes, plastic plates and keyboards.

I want to show that scrap material can be used to carve out a career, exemplifying ‘waste to wealth’, He said.

Mr Vyas who is a Graphic Designer by profession, has put together a gallery showcasing his art made from trash. He also works in collaboration with Indore Municipal Corporation.

Waste Management In India

According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, more than 1.4 lakh metric tonnes of waste per day is generated daily in the country, as of December 2021. Out of the total waste generated, over 98,300 metric tonnes per day, which is about 70 per cent, is being processed in a scientific manner, while the remaining 30 per cent is being disposed of in other ways, including in landfills, says the Ministry. The Ministry has stated that door-to-door collection is being practised in 97 per cent of the total wards, that is 86,263 out of 89,061 wards, while source segregation is being practised in 87 per cent of total wards, which is, 77,253 out of 89,061 wards in the country.

Also Read: Huge Volumes Of COVID Hospital Waste Threaten Health And Environment: WHO

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.