The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Contributing their bit to protect the environment

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 05, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Contributing their bit to protect the environment

Kannal Achuthan

Needs extra effort to save natural resources

Chennai: S. Indrakumar, a resident of Pammal, has converted his roof into a garden. Medicinal herbs and vegetables are grown there using the vermicompost he makes from kitchen wastes. Some plants are watered using recycled water.

Saving rainforests and reversing ozone layer depletion is possible by starting at home. Whether it is re-using old notebooks or installing simple solar heaters, little acts can go a long way to save the environment.

On the eve of the World Environment Day, Chennai residents share their ideas and efforts to contribute their bit to protecting the world's natural resources.

Recycling of resources can be done by every individual with a little extra enterprise. For instance, Usha Devi makes sure she takes a cloth bag when she goes shopping. "At the billing counter, especially in the big chain stores, I have to insist that I don't want a plastic cover. Even if I buy one item, the salesperson wants to give me a plastic bag," she says.

By using as little plastic as possible, consumers can bring down the massive levels of non-biodegradable garbage production.

Pavithra Sankaran, an independent film-maker, segregates plastic waste from organic waste. "Even empty milk packets can be recycled if one can take the small step to rinse them out and dry them," says her friend Anusha. Also, buying soft drinks in recyclable glass bottles is more nature-friendly than buying tetra packs.

The whole family can get into the habit of conservation. G. Dattatri, former chief planner with the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority, says that his family uses water and energy sparingly. Not only does this help the environment but it also makes good business sense as bills are lower!

Mr. Dattatri also promotes awareness on tree-planting and other eco-friendly initiatives by talking to school students. Students can save on paper by reusing old notebooks for rough work or binding unused pages into new notebooks. They are also taught not to litter public places such as parks and beaches.

These initiatives can become quite addictive. As Mr. Indrakumar says, "My house has become a sort of exhibition. Students and the interested public visit it to learn how they can do vermicomposting or roof-gardening themselves."

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