Multiplier effect in Thalambur
Every Saturday, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., a tempo trundles down the streets of Thalambur, stopping by gated communities and by the end of this tour, it carries a heavy load of dry waste on its back. The dry waste largely consists of plastics of various thickness, shapes and colours.
These are carefully segregated plastic waste by environment-conscious residents of these societies. With each community influencing another to engage with the vendor, Spreco Recycling Pvt. Ltd., the initiative has covered considerable ground.
What started with one community seven months ago has now expanded to cover at least six other villa and gated communities in the region, so much so that recently, the tempo started visiting these communities twice a week.
Each of these communities has brought something of a pioneering spirit to the table. While Casa Grand Elan took the lead in ensuring dry waste was sent to an authorised recycler, Casa Grande Pavilion was early in setting up community composting of biodegradable waste. Arihant Heirloom Apartments took the first step in finding a reliable recycler for e-waste and followed it up with regular drives in the community before passing on the contact to their neighbours in the region.
“In the ewaste and plastic waste initiatives, there was an incentive given by the vendors for the segregated items which was an advantage for the management community members to bring them on board,” says P. Navaneethan, an active resident of Arihant Heirloom.
While many of these gentle nudges are through WhatsApp messages and calls, in some situations, residents also visit each of their neighbours to be more forceful influencers.
“Our community has launched a pilot programme in composting wet waste with four composters, so we visited Casa Grande Pavilion to take lessons from them,” says Navaneethan.
As per reports, Thalambur village panchayat has 7,358 households of which 3,813 are apartments. If each of them installs bulk community composters then this panchayat could be a model for many other areas to follow.
Pedal power
On January 4, members of Thiruverkadu chapter of WCCG will celebrate one year of bringing a neighbourhood together for fun and fitness
“Thiruverkadu is cut off from the city with not much entertainment options and it was difficult to pull out people for any activity,” says Arun Kumar S. who along with Vinoth M. started VGN Cycling Group in January 2023.
With a small group of cycling enthusiasts from the community, the group explored new cycling routes and also enjoyed the rewards of doing it together. After a satisfying year they were invited to join We Are Chennai Cycling Group (WCCG).
As one of the youngest chapters of WCCG, this group from Thirverkadu has its own ways of draw people for fun and fitness.
“We are flexible with people, but we follow certain rules before including a new cyclist,” says Arun, a software professional who moved from Ayyapakkam to Thiruverkadu for his children’s schooling. Interested cyclists are part of a trial group for three days, after which they are felicitated and added to the main group.
He used to ride sometimes with the Porur or Ambattur chapter but both were far for him and so he started riding alone.
Currently, the Thiruverkadu chapter has 30 active riders, a majority of them residing two to three kilometres from VGN Temple Town where it all started.
Arun says associating with the WCCG brand played a big role in getting more members, and some of them were looking for such platforms but did not know how to get connected.
“We are a motley group of cyclists with chartered accountants, defence persons and a college student as well,” he says.
Besides the temple town that this neighbourhood is famous for, the group is happy to just pedal 5 to 10 km to take in the scenery dominated by paddy fields.
On January 4, the chapter will celebrate one year of bringing a neighbourhood together for fun and fitness.
From the past
* When it travelled quite a distance in its green journey, Aashiana Apartments in Alwarpet initiated ‘Swachh Venus’ to keep the neighbourhood surrounding the apartment clean. Led by a group of residents, they covered Venus Colony 2nd Street, 1st Street and Sriram Srinivasa Road going from house to house talking about the importance of source segregation.
* Valmiki Nagar Residents Association’s rainwater conservation went beyond RWH structures at homes, extending to the nooks and crannies of the neighbourhood.
* They first lined their streets with potted plants, painted the walls and then went bin-less. The transformation of Thiruveedhi Amman Kovil Street in Mandaveli with the efforts of Thiruveedhi Amman Kovil Street Residents’ Association led to expanding the green initiatives to other streets in the region that later came to be called RK Nagarra.
* Sabari Terrace, an apartment complex in OMR, has served as one of the best examples for a city where any water conservation solution is welcome. When residents of the community showed the success of rainwater harvesting methods through data, neighbouring apartments in the OMR belt started to implement it as well.
* Apartment complexes around Model School Road in Shollinganallur are a heavy weight when it comes to managing waste and conserving water. From organising competitions to see who sends the least amount of waste to the landfill to going to other communities to offer them a lesson or two, they always have something new to talk about. With Central Park East seeing the rewards in investing in solar technology, some of their neighbours are discussing the pros and cons of adopting it.
Published – December 14, 2024 10:19 pm IST
