While the citizens of Goa fight to overcome the overwhelming issue that is garbage, Dr Gurudas Samant pens down his thoughts, facts and figures, of how this issue can be tackled, with ease
While Margao struggles with its garbage menace, Goan originDr Gurudas Samant who’s based in Germany pens solutions in his book namely TurnWaste into Resources. Dr Samant urges Madgavkar’s to makes some space to sortgarbage similarly to that made for appliances like the refrigerator and washingmachine to collect plastics and glass in separate bins where they’re not soiledand can be sold to a scrap vendor directly.
Printed by Fomento Green, Fomento Chairman Audhuth Timblosays, “‘Turn Waste into Resources’ book is a guidebook on how to keep the cityclean. Margao residents should buy a copy and read it over a period of tenyears over and over again to remind them of the garbage menace and how totackle it.”
Mentioning about his ancestral house at Sonsoddo where hismother lives, Timblo stated that he funded the sorting plant at Sonsoddo onlyso that he could stop the stench and restore Margao’s lost glory since he livedhis childhood here.
“The plant at Sonsodo will not by itself solve Margao’sgarbage problem. The technical engineering is merely complete. Unless there’s asocial engineering and a micro revolution in the city to achieve success ingarbage management”, pointed out Timblo. Dr Shetye praised Dr Samant to travelback to Goa and study the ground level problems associated with garbage andlittering.
Dr Shetye urged the public to see to the sustenance andsuccess of the Sonsoddo plant by doing their bit to keep the city clean andsort their garbage. Before the book launch, he did a detailed presentation withpictures of Margao’s broken garbage bins and Goa’s climate change andenvironmental performance. Dr Samant points out, “ the average composition ofurban municipal solid waste (MSW) in India is 52 percent biodegradables, 17percent recyclables (paper, plastic, metal, and glass), 31 percent of inertsand 47 percent moisture content.” He also says that composting ofbio-degradable waste is the best solution through a daily door to doorcollection method, while the remaining fraction of municipal solid waste, whichcan neither be recycled nor recovered, can be utilised in the cement industryor incinerated.
In his address, the Goa University vice-Chancellorunderlined the need to learn social engineering as early as possible to solvemany of the problems plaguing society.
Margao MLA Digambar Kamat emphasized the need to change themindset towards garbage and exuded confidence that Margao can become a rolemodel in the field of waste management. Digambar reminded Margao residents thatthe best investments can be made but the key is that the attitude to fling thegarbage bag from the verandah post 11 pm should change.
