Objectives:

1. To spread the message of sustainable and environment integrated lifestyle to each and every school child as well the youth of all colleges and teaching institutions
2.  To ensure that each person is engaged with this concept and is willing to make personal sacrifices as well as involve themselves in the ‘Mission Life’
3. To ensure that the community engagement is sustained over time and that environment healthy habits become a routine part of our daily lives and not just a fashionable statement

Description of the project

This project would entail the spread of a sustainable lifestyle to schools,  community and the society at large. This would mean the total awareness, education, participation and persistent involvement with a completely new and unique perspective as well as way of living for people as a large group. For sustainable lifestyle to be a ‘way of life ‘we have to look at each thing we do, from waking up in the morning till we go to bed in a new manner. Many things make up a ‘sustainable lifestyle’:

• Waste management : The things we discard and throw away, e.g. sewage disposal, food waste, kitchen wet waste disposal, packaging disposal (every day milk pouches/ egg boxes/ packed food , their plastic boxes, cutlery, soap and shampoo bottles, bottles of disinfectant / insect killers and similar stuff). Have we ever wondered what happens to these if we dispose them off to our local rag picker/ scrap dealer or the  effect of mixing of wet and dry waste?
• Sanitary Napkins waste: The correct way and mechanism to dispose off sanitary waste. To look for affordable, biodegradable sanitation, considering the time it takes to disintegrate the used napkins in the landfills.
• Problem of landfills: Mountains of landfills outside our urban cities which are a sore reminder of the waste we generate… will these take over our living spaces ?
• Plastic waste: how much of the plastic we send to scrap dealers or in bins is actually recycled ?Are the glass bottles or ceramic waste also recycled enough?
• What are the alternative options for the above materials?
• What will countries do once they reach ‘Day Zero’ of ground water resources such as the situation in Cape town?!
• Do we have adequate alternatives to Fossil and exhaustible fuels ?
• Are nations talking about exchange of energy derived from natural resources for the betterment of this planet?
• Are we shifting to solar energy on a war footing in our country?
• Do all of us use solar cookers for cooking now?
• Do we all carry our water bottle/ adequate food/ cutlery and reusable bag to avoid buying these things?
• Do we share excess of materials /goods/ paper / clothes / accessories to promote equality and growth distribution?
•  How are we planning to manage water bodies/ flooding / droughts and deforestation as a common problem?
•  Is the government taking adequate policy driven decisions to integrate with the development and industries ?

There are many such questions that would include discussions regarding the above issues to eventually be converted into real life solutions, laws and mandatory as well as voluntary solutions.

Methodology:

The above questions would need to be addressed by many stake holders (community, schools, institutions, government agencies, Non-government bodies). The methodology would be multi targeted approach towards the above mentioned issues amongst many more.

• To address the biggest challenge for the world today i.e.. Waste Management, many agencies need to be involved, starting with ground level segregation of wet and dry waste bin installation by civic bodies, collection trucks and man power for the same.  Door to door waste collectors have to be educated about the same and put on government payroll for the greater good of the community. Waste recycling and degradation plants need to be constructed instead of landfills.
• Refill option for shampoo, soaps, toilet cleaners etc. must be looked into to reduce the constant usage of these plastic containers or the concerned companies should create common drop box centres for people to send these back to the manufacturing units to be refilled and resealed.
• Sanitary waste needs to be addressed at war footing and awareness about bio-degradable sanitary napkins with proper bags for disposal so as to avoid mix with other waste must be done. Menstrual cups usage should be easier and better quality cups should be made available.
• Plastic and e-waste management is also an industry related issue that needs to be sorted at the time of buying new devices so as to make deposit of previous device mandatory
• Water management, rain water harvesting , bridging rivers in India to divert flood waters to parched states is the need of the hour.
• Harvesting solar, wind and hydro power instead of fossil fuels should be the new game changer for all industries with exchange of power generated between nations and states.
• Sharing excess material goods, whether its paper / pencils or clothes should be devoid of taboos and social customs and reused goods must be given more weightage than new!!
• Only when these methods are applied and admired as well as appreciated by all without any prejudices and stigmas, it would be possible for the humanity to progress towards a sustainable lifestyle

Major stakeholders

For a  ‘Sustainable lifestyle’ the entire world has to work as a team. The stakeholders would include entire nations, governments, policy makers, industries, communities and individuals with their civic bodies.

For waste management, beginning from the door to door waste collector, to scrap dealers, civic managers, public sweepers and cleaners, waste disposal squads up till the waste recycling plant managers and engineers, all parties have to be involved in the decision making as well as implementation schemes. Industries must be held responsible for e-waste and plastic waste management. All waste must be disposed of individually in the correct and segregated manner with heavy penalty for any tampering or mishandling of the same.

 The individual role in use of solar/ electrical energy sources by using solar energy for cooking-electricity and electric cars or bicycles must be incentivised by government bodies.

Water conservation, soil management and afforestation as well as maintenance of natural habitats needs legal strictness, with stringent penalty for offenders and strict punishment for such offences / activities.

Law enforcement agencies, judiciary, the legislation for making new laws and bills must join hands to prevent the rapid degradation of planet earth urgently.

Sustainability Plan

The ‘sustainability plan’ is a summary of the above pathways for managing our lifestyle:

• Waste (dry-wet waste segregation and recycling/ composting /plants to replace Landfills)
• E-waste:  Industrial and government join hands together with users to remove this waste from the planet and pass laws /bills to make mandatory sorting of e-waste by the manufacturing companies and government intervention and so that they look for ONLY sustainable options
• Water – soil- forest and natural habitat management : by policymakers , communities, individual effort to treat and manage  these resources as ‘The REAL GOLD’ of the planet
• Reuse and share, then re-share should be the motto for all material goods in use
• Complete ban on plastics, look for sustainable replacements
• Most importantly : Individual effort from each person will make wonders happen! Each one – Reuse 2, recycle 3 and reduce 4!!

Impact:

The long term impact of this movement and efforts of our community especially coming from the school children will force adults and policy makers to listen! All of them have to answer their future generation and it is time for the youth of today and tomorrow to make themselves heard and seen!

Impact would be long lasting and long term if started today. Who knows we may hope to stop this degradation at some tipping point , before it is irreversible and far too late!!!

Harsevak