Waste to Best

Waste to Best
Focus area: Mitigation; Adaptation
Location: Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh,India
Established: October 2011

Start from small things, Start from ourselves, Start now

After observing the unchecked and untreated harmful emissions from a straw paper factory in their community, a group of students called Nature Bodies Youth Group, decided to try to rid this problem by making the community and government aware of the ill-effects the factory was posing on the environment. By involving and informing the local government and community, including arranging visits to polluted water sources, petitions, awareness campaigns, promoting alternative employment, research and continuous protest, the factory was closed down with the Coordination of the Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board & the District collector. The workers who lost their jobs started farming and animal rearing jobs. Other industries are now very careful about the effluents from their factories.

Research was made on the vast amount of waste in the city and how this waste was polluting the local drinking water. With government support, awareness campaigns, workshops, road shows, petitions and competitions on clean environment and recycling were organized.

Showing and encouraging the local community how waste can be converted, recycled and useful.

To increase the number of people joining this easy waste management project, we cooperated with the Government and supporting communities during campaigns and workshops.