| Issue No. 3 |
November 2010 |
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Read All About the SWMRT Wow, what a month October was for the SWMRT! Two major events in one week made it a busy time for everyone but the results surpassed all our expectations. Our "first birthday" press conference was held at the Press Club of Bangalore a few days before the Lok Adalat hearing. More than 30 journalists attended the short presentation given by Sandya Naryanan on the mission of the SWMRT and its successes to date.
Sandya shared new statistics from NO2CO2.in, climate change research experts, which showed that in just one year 4,633 tons of CO2 emissions were avoided by the SWMRT's recycling of paper only. |
Media coverage was secured in The Indian Express (twice), Times of India, DNA, Deccan Chronicle, mybangalore.com, and local news channels. The Commissioner Calls Within five hours of the press conference, Dr. Meenakshi Bharath received a call from the office of BBMP Commissioner Mr. Siddiah asking the group to go along to a presentation to Environment Officers that very afternoon who all agreed to implement many of the SWMRT plans, including installing biogas units at local markets. Rock the Lok Adalat! Hot on the heels of the press conference came the second presentation to the Lok Adalat in an effort to get the BBMP to implement segregation at source across Bangalore. The three hour session was attended by more than 50 SWMRT members and supporters with the presentation being made by Shalini Khanna Charles, Sandya Narayanan, and Mr Ramakanth. As a result of the meeting, the BBMP has undertaken to train its Environment Officers and start looking at promoting segregation in both communities and commercial establishments. |
SWMRT Goes to Court...
And in another 'result' from the Lok Adalat, Chief Justice M K Patil has asked SWMRT to submit a proposal to initiate a waste management system on the High Court Premises.
The SWMRT spreads its wings further afield with an invitation to present at the Lok Adalat, Mysore on November 20th. Look out for the full report in the next edition of CLEAN SHEET. A great first birthday celebration thanks to you all! Here's to the next successful 12 months! |
Waste Manager of the Month
This month, we spotlight the father of the SWMRT, Bangalore born and bred Sri N S Ramakanth, an individual who has worked tirelessly in the pursuit of a cleaner Bangalore since returning from abroad more than 20 years ago. "I want to turn Bangalore from the garbage city it has become into the garden city it once was," says Ramakanth, who at 75 years of age is on a one man mission to do just that.
Ramakanth is equally at home in the media spotlight or on the streets getting to grips with garbage. Love those pink gloves!
Formerly the RWA President of Kumara Park West, he now volunteers all his time to teaching both residents and BBMP Environment Officers and Zone Officials how to manage solid waste effectively in their areas. By educating at the BBMP level, Ramakanth aims to bring all the officials into the fold who will then share the information with their teams on the ground, resulting in a trickle down effect. "I brief the teams on how to segregate at source and provide educational literature which they then translate into local languages and distribute. I have also introduced specific deadlines for compliance; our aim is that by January 2011, the whole of Bangalore's BBMP officials will have been briefed and within three months of each briefing, their waste management plans should be fully implemented." Ramakanth is fully supported not only by his SWMRT colleagues, but his wife, Veda, who acts as his tech assistant and general manager! We applaud his efforts and congratulate him on becoming our very first Waste Manager of the Month!
If you have a nominee, please email editorcleansheet@me.com with their name, role, and why they deserve the title, in 100 words or less. We will select just one winner each month who will receive a t-shirt for their efforts and a write up in CLEAN SHEET to share with their friends and family. So what are you waiting for? Send us a mail today!
Month at a Glance
So, just what else has the Solid Waste Management Roundtable
Bengaluru been doing this month?
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Habitat for Humanity The SWMRT continues to grow in size and status, and this month we welcome Habitat for Humanity (HFH) to the Table. HFH is a global organization which works in more than 93 countries and has been in India for the past 26 years. During that time, HFH has constructed over 35,000 and supported 175,000 families throughout the country. It works in partnership with local, grass root NGO's and micro-finance orgs to reach people in need of decent housing through a 'one-third' model: The cost of construction is equally borne by the stakeholders i.e., Beneficiary, Local NGO partner and HFH. It also has a disaster response team that helps rebuild homes and rehouse families in times of emergency, such as tsunami or monsoon rains.
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Community Compost As a result of the Lok Adalat, the BBMP has committed to composting in parks - if you have a local park nearby, please let us know if you'd be willing to help as a volunteer to educate and oversee the process! For more information, please contact the SWMRT Hotline on 99161 02848 or email us at |
Around the City Throughout the month active SWMRT members continued to convert communities to segregation or follow up with those that have newly implemented waste management in their areas. Platinum City continues to shine with volunteers contributing 66 cloth bags to the supermarket to motivate them to stop using plastic bags. And residents who are willingly segregating have been given "I am Green and I Segregate" stickers. And at Big Bazaar in Malleshwaram, packing boxes and plastics are being sent to recyclers and Mr Ramakanth has been invited to run a training program for housekeeping staff. Mr Ramakanth also spent time in Yelahanka at the invitation of the Zonal Commissioner who wants to speed up the process of making the area a zero waste zone! |
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Julie McGuire |
SWMRT Hotline |
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CLEAN SHEET: The monthly newsletter of the Solid Waste Management Round Table Bengaluru