Gandipet Welfare Society for Zero Waste uses sustainable methods to turn waste into compost
Every weekend for the past eight years, a group of volunteers in the Gandipet region have gathered at approximately six in the morning. And over the course of the following four hours, a motley workforce made up of neighbourhood residents, college and high school students, and early-morning pedestrians picks up rubbish. They demonstrate what a trash-free land can be by having breakfast there after they've cleaned up the area, which was formerly an eyesore.
The Gandipet Welfare Society for zero Waste is driving this effort. The organisation, which is funded by the State government, processes between 800 and 1,000 tonnes of waste each month in addition to collecting and sorting it. The region has become a garbage-free zone as a consequence of their dedication to using only the most environmentally friendly techniques to handle the waste.
When the group initially cleaned the Gandipet Lake's beaches, everything began. They were advised to dispose of all the waste at a local landfill, but they decided against it because doing so would pollute the land. The team started looking for alternatives after discovering there was nowhere to properly dispose of the material.
"We met with MA&UD minister KT Rama Rao and asked him to provide us with a plot of land on which to build a processing facility. According to Rajashree Pinnamaneni, one of the organization's founding members, "He instructed the ranga reddy District collector and the waste yard in the region was given over to us.
After consulting specialists, the crew opted to compost the garbage. They burn the garbage at 900 degrees in an incinerator that has been licenced by the pollution board, producing no pollution. Only 5% of the garbage is converted into ash, which is then utilised to build bricks. They received land and approval for four further units at Vattinagulapally, Aziznagar, Khanapur, and Yenkepalle after their efforts at the Gandipet unit were noticed.
“There were only five of us when we started. Today, we are around 100 and we have five units here in telangana and one in tamil Nadu,” adds Rajashree.
When the group initially cleaned the Gandipet Lake's beaches, everything began. They were advised to dispose of all the waste at a local landfill, but they decided against it because doing so would pollute the land. The team started looking for alternatives after discovering there was nowhere to properly dispose of the material.
"We met with MA&UD minister KT Rama Rao and asked him to provide us with a plot of land on which to build a processing facility. According to Rajashree Pinnamaneni, one of the organization's founding members, "He instructed the ranga reddy District collector and the waste yard in the region was given over to us.
After consulting specialists, the crew opted to compost the garbage. They burn the garbage at 900 degrees in an incinerator that has been licenced by the pollution board, producing no pollution. Only 5% of the garbage is converted into ash, which is then utilised to build bricks. They received land and approval for four further units at Vattinagulapally, Aziznagar, Khanapur, and Yenkepalle after their efforts at the Gandipet unit were noticed.
“There were only five of us when we started. Today, we are around 100 and we have five units here in telangana and one in tamil Nadu,” adds Rajashree.