Over the past few years, greenwashing of the word 'sustainability' has been quite common. I see makeup wrapped in multi-layered plastic, surrounded by a layer of bubblewrap and then packaged in cardboard. Right below all this packaging is see the words 'sustainable packaging'. As a consumer, I have dabbled around the concept of sustainability, but the truth is even today I'm not sure how I define it for myself, let alone understand how organisations define 'sustainability' for themselves. But I still wanted to know, how could I break the word 'sustainable' even further.
I moved to Chennai quite recently and now that I'm living on my own, I wanted to experiment a bit with the idea of 'sustainability'. I wanted to see where I could incorporate 'sustainable' practices into my life and understand the challenges that I might face in the process.
Buying Sustainable Produce
As a student who happens to also be a working professional, I try to settle for cheap food. The produce I buy are from road side vendors selling them at a subsidised rate. Even if I do plan to order food, I try to order based on my budget. Most of the produce sold are grown with fertilisers and pesticides. As a consumer, by continuing to buy such produce (even though they're cheap) means I indirectly contribute to the cycle of farmers using pesticides to grow crops.
I realised that if I had to switch to sustainable produce, it would come down to buying ingredients that was grown organically without the use of fertilisers. I googled all the organic stores near me and they were quite far away. Travelling 7 km to the nearest organic store was not a feasible option for me. I had to search for options where I could order my organic produce and have it delivered to me.
Although, this was the most convenient option for me, it posed two of the biggest problems. First, it turned out to be more expensive that buying regular produce. Second, was my worst fear which was, packaging waste. I used Swiggy's instamart to order my monthly groceries.
When I ordered different vegetables, they all came in different LDPE packets. Although, I did have all organic ingredients, I now had to deal with the trash they had generated.
Dealing with my waste
I'm currently working in Waste ventures India, an organisation in the waste management space. I've learnt a great deal about waste in general. I used to be a careless consumer that ended my relationship with a product once it goes into the bin. Working in the waste management space, has shown me the entire waste supply chain; from the collection of trash to its disposal. Dealing with waste is more difficult and problematic than one can think. Having visited local municipalities and other dumpsites, I have learnt the importance of segregation at the household level.
Dry waste like plastic, paper, glass, metal can all be recycled. And that is the same with wet waste. All household vegetable/fruit waste can be composted to make organic manure. However, if the waste is mixed, then it cannot be recycled and it will directly end up in a landfill/dumpsite. Once waste is mixed, the dry waste is essentially contaminated. Our government doesn't have the manpower nor the resources to further segregate mixed waste. For example, a plastic container with some noodles is considered mixed waste. Food in the plastic container needs to be disposed, the container then needs to be washed for it to be recyclable. If 300 households throw plastic containers with noodles, rather than segregating this further, it all gets dumped in a landfill. It easier and saves a lot of time and money for people in the municipalities.
Coming back to my issue, ordering my produce meant that I had to find a way to deal with my packaging waste. This was when I started to segregate all the dry waste in my house. In order to deal with my dry waste, I subscribed to Bintix. Though I get to dispose of my dry waste through Bintix, it doesn't just end there. I get my own dashboard to see how much of dry waste I have recycled over a period of time and the environmental impact I have contributed towards.
How Bintix works
My Bintix dashboard
Once these blue bags are full, they are collected and sent to the warehouse for processing. These are then further segregated and sent to certified recyclers.
Filled Bintix bags with different types of dry waste from my house
Different dry waste streams like plastic (LDPE, HDPE, PET etc.), paper, metal etc. collected
The owner of my apartment lent me a bucket with holes on the sides which happens to be perfect for composting. I compost all my wet waste in that bucket. I ensure that my wet waste (vegetable & fruits peels) is either cut into small pieces so it can compost faster. Every time I add my wet waste, I cover it with some soil over to help the decomposing process. Given that I cook more often at home now, I have to get a bigger compost bin for dealing with my wet waste.
My compost bucket. Its not perfect, but it will do!
Energy
As I'm currently in a rental apartment, I get electricity from the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB). For cooking, as opposed to using gas/LPG, I used an induction stove run on electricity.
I live in the second floor right below the roof. If anyone has been to Chennai, one thing that everyone knows is that the heat is unbearable during summers. Due to the effects of climate change, the weather has been even more erratic in Chennai. Summer have become hotter and have extended way past their due course. When I moved into my apartment, I really couldn't just do with the fan in my room. I got an air cooler (not an air conditioner) which keeps the room cool with water. But that didn't work as well, and I made the decision to get an air conditioner after 3 months of internal conflict. I got a Samsung AC that had 5 blue star rating. This is one of the major decisions that I had to make that really pushed me to weigh the pros and cons of having a 'sustainable' outcome. ACs are harmful to the environment, but not getting one got in the way of my sleep and mental well-being. So I made a decision that prioritised the latter.
Water
I'm someone that loves a nice long hot water showers. However, after moving to Chennai, I learnt that there is a serious water scarcity here. Most of the drinking water is exhausted due to overuse and contamination. Water for household activities only comes for certain hours during the day. Knowing this, I had to ensure that I don't overuse water. I use 4 buckets of water a day. 2 buckets for taking a bath; morning and evening. Another switch I made was using cold water for showers instead of hot water. It has been something I've been meaning to do for a while, and it has been quite effective in helping me wake up in the mornings. I also manage to save on electricity that is used to run the heater. I use 2 buckets for washing utensils and other kitchen items. I also have a mini washing machine that I use on a weekly basis. For every use, the machine uses around 5 buckets of water to wash my clothes.
Unlike certain places where you can get drinking water from your tap, I have to purchase drinking water in 20 L cans in the area I live. This was a stark realisation that the Chennai I used to know as a child has changed drastically in the past 2 decades.
20 L water can dropped outside my house every week
I don't have a refrigerator in my house. This was a conscious choice I made. Although many people are surprised by this, I've been fine without one for almost 6 months now. I don't have dairy (milk, ice-cream, butter), I don't require ice and I cook my meals everyday ensuring there is no leftover. So why would I need a refrigerator then?
I'm still experimenting with a lot of things. I'm learning a lot about myself in the process and if you're reading this I hope you can try to experiment with things around you as well, and rate how sustainable your your lifestyle is.
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