The Hindu : Karnataka News : An environmentalist in his own right

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 12, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Karnataka

Karnataka

An environmentalist in his own right

Sudipto Mondal

D’Souza has been serving people for eight years now
He has not allowed plastic material enter dump yards

MANAGLORE: For the last eight years, Robert D’Souza (55) has been ensuring that plastic waste from Vaidyanathnagar colony in Attavar does not make its way into the dump-yards of the city.

But by sorting out the garbage over these years, he has not been able to change people’s attitude towards plastic waste disposal, Mr. D’Souza says.

Patience

He has not become impatient with the rotten stuff packed in plastic carry bags. “I have advised people several times on the hazards of plastic.

Why can’t they just give me plastic and the rest of their garbage, separately?” he questions.

Task

Mr. D’Souza has been collecting waste from the same 65 houses. At the end of his rounds, he separates plastic and other hazardous material and dumps the rest in public bins.

Disposal

He sells the plastic to the scrap merchant. Most households in the colony pay him Rs. 35 a month each. He says people tend to postpone their waste disposal till their houses begin to stink. “When that happens, they do not want to touch the waste. Hence they pack it in plastic bags and pass it on to me,” he says.

If they feel so icky to handle their own waste, then what about me?” he questions.

Hazards

“I might be doing this for a living but I am also an environmentalist,” he says proudly.

He is aware of the hazards of plastic and constantly tries to educate people in the colony about waste management. “When I tell people about plastics, they say that I am only a scavenger and that I should my job. They tell me not to preach them,” he adds.

By day, Mr. D’Souza works as a gardener in the School of Social Work (SSW), Roshni Nilaya. His daughter is pursuing her Masters in Social Work in SSW and his son a bachelors degree in the same stream at St. Aloysius College.

Education

“Not many people listen to me because I am uneducated, but people will listen to my children when they take up the cause,” he says. Some people here throw their garbage on the road and sometimes into vacant plots just to save Rs. 35.

“I pick up that stuff too. It is free service,” he laughs.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka