New Delhi: India produces a whopping 62 million tonnes of garbage in a year. Out of this, 5.6 million tonnes is the plastic waste, 0.17 million tonnes is the biomedical waste, 7.90 million tonnes is hazardous waste and 15 lakh tonnes is e-waste. The worrisome part is out this huge pile of waste, mere 22-28% is treated, while about 31 million tonnes of waste is left untreated and dumped at various landfill sites. Today, the landfill piles in many of the metro cities of the country is almost like a landmark unto itself. From Delhi’s Ghazipur to Mumbai’s Deonar, all the major landfills today are way past their lifespan and breaching their boundaries due to the unabated dumping of garbage for years.
Also Read: Top 10 Things To Know About India’s Waste Management Woes
Often citizens deem cleanliness as government’s responsibility, but the truth is that individual responsibility can go a long way in fulfilling the dream of a cleaner India by 2019. There are several steps through which an individual can contribute towards ensuring cleanliness in his/her surroundings. One such step is upcycling that is also known as the process of transforming old products, waste materials, or unwanted things into new products.
Here are some of the creative examples of how an individual can start upcycling their waste:
Convert Cardboard Boxes Into Jute Storage Baskets
Cardboard packaging is the largest component of human-generated waste, which contributes significantly to global warming. But you can make a difference by not throwing away this waste in the trash bins at home carelessly.
What you can do: Just remove the flaps, and paste it at the base. Next, get yourself some jute string and simply wrap the box with the help of glue. Now, place your choice of fabric inside the box neatly and voila your jute storage basket is ready.
Also Read: DIY: How To Upcycle Thermocol Tableware That You Ditch For Eco-Friendly Options
DIY Your Tin Cans Into Outdoor Luminaries
Even though metal tins or packaging can be recycled easily, it is today the most littered item in the world. To make a difference, next time when you empty a tin or a can, instead of putting it in a dustbin, don a creative hat and make outdoor lamps for your garden/balcony.
What Can You Do: All you need is an assortment of empty tin cans, Acrylic Craft Paints, hole puncher and some battery operated tea-lights. As a first step, clean the waste tin and paint it up with your choice of colours. Once the paint is dried, with the help of the hole puncher gadget, make different sizes of holes in the tin box. In the last step, pop in a battery operated tea-lights, and you will have for yourself a beautiful lamp to brighten up your home.
Also Read: From Garbage To Garden: Learn The Art Of Composting At Home
Pep-Up Your Accessory Wardrobe With Mint Boxes Turned Hairpin Holder
These small plastic boxes which are often used for just one day ends up polluting the landfills for more than 1000 years. Reason – plastic is a non-biodegradable material, as a result, it is not digested by the planet.
What can you do: Simply replace the container’s label with your choice of washi tape or cloth fabric, and you will have yourself a funky bobby pins holder.
Don’t Discard Your CD Waste, Simply Turn Them Into A Mosaic Tile
Instead of dumping the old CD collection into the trash bin, just break it into smaller pieces of various shapes. Then just shattered this CD waste on an old plate and place it in your room to give it a shiny spin.
Also Read: From Old To Gold: Tap Your Creative Side To Upcycle Your Used CDs
Renovate To Ensure Zero-Wastage
Renovating your bathroom? Don’t just throw away old things carelessly. If you are planning to get yourself a new tub, here’s a cool way to reuse that old bathtub. Turn it into a ‘Breakfast At Tiffany’s’ Style sofa.
What can you do: First, just get the front of the bathtub cut from a professional to give it a shape of the sofa. Then paint it up with the colours of your choice. As a last step, just pep it up with cushions and a mattress.
Also Read: Do It Yourself: Here’s How You Can Treat Flower Waste And Turn It Into Everyday Use Items
NDTV – Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign lends support to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign aims to spread awareness about hygiene and sanitation, the importance of building toilets and making India open defecation free (ODF) by October 2019, a target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. Over the years, the campaign has widened its scope to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and menstrual hygiene. The campaign has also focused extensively on marine pollution, clean Ganga Project and rejuvenation of Yamuna, two of India’s major river bodies.
