The Hindu : New Delhi News : CRPF housing project goes green

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 04, 2007
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New Delhi

New Delhi

CRPF housing project goes green

Staff Reporter

The housing society adopts a zero-waste management project

Two rag-pickers employed through Rs.5 per household contribution
Wet waste is composted using pits to produce manure

NEW DELHI: In the first such initiative by any para-military force in the country, the Central Reserve Police Force housing project at Dwarka has taken its first baby step towards going green. The housing society recently adopted a zero-waste management project based on the principles of the three “Rs” -- reuse, reduce and recycle.

In a major move towards management of household waste through community involvement and limiting the waste ending at landfills, the project has tackled the issue of collection, segregation and recycling of waste. Two rag-pickers have been employed by the community through Rs.5 per household contribution and the wet waste is composted using pits to produce manure.

Says CRPF Director-General S.I.S. Ahmed: “Zero-waste management projects could be taken up for implementation across the country at our residential and official establishments. As a responsible institution, the para-military force considers its duty to introduce environmentally safe practices.”

The project has received support from non-government organisation Toxics Link that is working in the area of wastes and toxics. Toxics Link senior programme officer Parvinder Singh said: “We helped create awareness about the hazards of inadequate and improper waste collection and taught the community there about how to manage waste. Since this residential complex does not have government collection facility, the residents under the scheme have ensured that garbage is segregated, collected and disposed in a proper manner. Landfills are not a solution to Delhi’s garbage problem, besides the city’s existing landfills have run out of space. The issue of waste management cannot be solved through any quick-fix solutions and will have to be addressed by creating community-based system of segregation. Landfills have themselves become a major environmental hazard, which needs to be contained.”

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