BENGALURU RECYCLING HABBA - 1st to 14th November 2011 Think Before You Throw!

Oct. 10, 2011 - PRLog -- The Solid Waste Management Round Table Bengaluru (SWMRT), supported by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), is pleased to announce the first ever Recycling Habba from 1st to 14th November 2011.  Timed to coincide with other global recycling initiatives, its mission is to encourage adoption of the three R's - reduce, reuse, recycle, through innovative fashion and art shows, recycling competitions, panel discussions, and interactive mall events.

The city of Bengaluru generates 3,500 tons of garbage everyday and spends nearly Rs 402 CR per annum simply to dump that waste, rather than manage it.  As a result, the environment is highly polluted, from soil to ground water to farm products, but a simple change in mindset can curtail and drastically reduce the amount of garbage that needlessly makes its way into landfills or worse still, onto the city’s streets.

Myriam Shankar, Program Manager, Bengaluru Recycling Habba, says:  “We want the first Bengaluru Recycling Habba to be a huge success and to pave the way for bigger and better events every year.  It’s up to all of us as citizens of Bengaluru to support the event through our own actions - by adopting the three R’s at home, at work, at our place of study; by attending featured events; by volunteering their time; or even just by making a donation.  Find out more on our website at www.swmrt.com or follow us on Facebook at Twitter.”

The Bengaluru Recycling Habba will feature high profile events and initiatives targeted at a wide range of audiences, including:
“Alternate Current”:  A traveling exhibition of Lamps and Fashion Accessories created from waste material, spearheaded by designer Jenny Pinto and showcasing at Olive Bar & Kitchen and Recycling Mela in the Mall.
“Recycling Designer Mela”:  Sale of fashion accessories made from recycled materials, appearing at Olive Bar & Kitchen Flea Market and Recycling Mela in the Mall.
“Recyclathon:  A friendly competition amongst schools, colleges, and corporate campuses promoting waste reduction activities with prizes for the largest amount of waste saved.
“Extended Producers’ Responsibility”:  An expert panel discussion chaired by renowned advocate and Chairman, Karnataka State Council, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Sajan Poovayya on the effect of industries’ “good behavior” on the environment and their duty to create both environmentally responsible products and responsible solutions their waste.
“Recycling Mela in the Mall”:  Mantri Square Mall, Malleshwaram will showcase the work of the SWMRT and its partners to present gear and tools to facilitate segregation of waste and encourage waste reduction.

The SWMRT comprises a group of like-minded organizations and highly skilled individuals who have been working to build awareness of and promote the adoption of best practices in waste management at houses, apartment complexes, corporations, schools/colleges, and public offices across Bengaluru.  It is hosted by The Anonymous Indian Charitable Trust, which aims to give social and environmentally active citizens a legal platform to operate in.

In just over two years, the SWMRT has made many significant achievements: It has initiated and introduced segregation, recycling, and composting to 25,000 households, saving about 650 tonnes of waste being dumped into landfills; it has trained more than 125 BBMP environment officers; it has created a shift in municipal waste contracts for the city from waste disposal to waste management; through work with the Lok Adalat, it has ensured that the BBMP will allocate Rs 25 Lakhs per ward for dry waste collection centers; and, with intervention from the Lok Adalat, it has ensured the introduction of ID cards for the city’s rag pickers in an effort to make their jobs safer.


For further information, please contact:   
Myriam Shankar      9886709537      swmrt.bengaluru@gmail.com/myriam@aksadvocates.com
Julie McGuire      9945691533      editorcleansheet@me.com/juliemcguire@me.com