Start small, recycle kitchen waste first: Green groups

Navi Mumbai: With the recent directive to segregate garbage in Panvel civic areas, a few organisations are promoting kitchen gardens as a way to recycle kitchen waste.
No matter how small or large a space one has, kitchen herbs and condiments can be grown in pots and planters. This helps generate manure from peels and the same can be recycled into the plants.
Green Souls, an organisation in Kharghar conducts kitchen gardening and kitchen waste composting courses. Said volunteer Udit Agarwal, “We have been doing this for four years and the response has been tremendous. In fact more such sessions are being held after segregation has become compulsory.”
They regularly receive requests from housing societies all over Navi Mumbai asking for help on generating manure from kichen waste so that the same can be used in a kitchen garden. “The methods are easy, affordable and not time consuming at all. Actually this is the only solution to the garbage problem,” he added.
Founder, iNaturewatch Foundation, Dr V Shubhalaxmi said that while it might take a while for residents to understand the nuances of segregation of garbage, kitchen gardening and kitchen waste management courses that they conduct are popular.
“The workshops are conducted regularly. Participants are taught to manage kitchen waste, convert it into manure and reuse it in their kitchen garden. It is the most effective way to curtail the garbage issue,” she said.
Seawoods resident Radha Srinivasan said that since both the dry and wet garbage are collected together, the purpose of segregation is lost. She conducts sessions on kitchen gardening and waste to manure conversion.
“If dry garbage is disposed off correctly and wet garbage is recycled, there will be no garbage to dispose off at all,” she added.