Green crusader shows the way forward in zero-waste lifestyle
Strap: Makes bio-enzymes out of household waste | Exhorts people to shun use of plastic
Deepkamal Kaur
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, May 1
Architect Meenal Verma organised a puja at her place few days. She chose not to dump fresh marigold flowers and instead chose to make a bio-enzyme out of it! She plans to use it as an insecticide.
“I put all flowers in two disposable bottles, added some jaggery, water and concentrate from a previous bio-enzyme bottle and used it after few weeks,” she said, while showing the bottles, says Verma. “My aim is to create a zero-waste environment. I try not to bring any plastic bag in my home and even if I happen to use them by chanvce, I make it a point not to throw them in the dustbin. Instead, I store them till I am able to collect enough of them with which I can weave a smart, usable handbag.”
She has been educating people by way of videos, photographs, webinars Facebook Lives etc, which she keeps on organising through her FB page ‘Sense by Meenal Verma’ and another popular page among residents ‘NoticeBoard – Jalandhar by Tinu Luthra’, she keeps on enlightening the residents about environmental issues. Last month, she also got picked as ‘Recyling Hero’ by the Swachh Bharat Mission of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
She is already the winner of the Water Hero Award by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, GOI, last year. In fact, Verma has been a crusader of water conservation for the past many years. “I had begun going door-to-door, telling people not to use water unscrupulously for washing cars or porch areas and verandahs. I have been telling people not to go in for RO filters as these are not required here and lead to a lot of wastage of water. I keep drums on my rooftop to harness the rainwater and reuse it for watering plants, sweeping floors and other purposes for which we must not use potable water. I even do not let the water used for washing fruits and vegetables to drain and reuse it for some other purpose. I tell people constructing their houses to get tanks of treated water from the Pholariwal plant for the purpose,” says the 41-year-old who says that she had developed her love for nature since her school days in Chandigarh.
Even as an architect, she says that she keeps advising her clients not to indulge in designs such as using huge glasses for windows. “We only end up creating tandoors as these are not fit for the kind of climate that we have here in the region. Ideally, we need to ensure that there is proper cross-ventilation in the house. I also suggest my client to have a well-ventilated kitchen. I tell them not to keep the drain area in the kitchen covered with wooden cabinets as it will only invite pests.
