Cleaning Ramnagar (2021)

An initiative that succeeded in effective waste management and reduction of plastic pollution across ten villages in Ramnagar, Uttarakhand.

The villages of Ramnagar suffered from a severe waste crisis resulting from uncontrolled dumping, burning of wastes that affected their farmlands and crops. Chintan, partnering with the government-run Uttarakhand Forest Resource Management Project, with an aim of going zero waste, worked rigorously from 2018-2022, overcoming the challenges posed by the global pandemic in between, to educate the villagers about sustainability.

Uncontrolled littering and burning of wastes was making Ram Nagar gradually uninhabitable.

The villagers were taught to focus on the segregation of wastes, as dry wastes were collected from them and they learned about composting wet waste. Alternatives were encouraged to reduce use-and-throw plastic usage as utensils were donated to local restaurants and individuals to run a community crockery bank. Several meetings and workshops were also organized where the villagers were taught to reuse recyclable plastic products like how to transform a plastic bottle into a decorative lamp. This also helped in strengthening the economic condition as more women came forward with an interest to make products best out of waste. This initiative prevented almost five tons of plastic from going into the environment and the villagers today claim how their lives have benefitted through this.