Sustainable practices in Goa's villages: YIMBY shows the way
Every household generates a lot of waste. While some adopt sustainable ways and means to manage their waste, there are still many who are clueless as to how to dispose them, without causing any environmental harm.
For a very long period of time, 'Yes In My Backyard' (YIMBY) has been engaging and promoting sustainable ways of living, and they recently set up Organic Waste Convertor (OWC), a Bailing machine and an incinerator at Nagoa village, in Bardez.
The purpose behind it
This initiative will help the villagers of Nagoa to deal with their wet, dry and sanitary waste in a sustainable manner.
Speaking to the Nagoa sarpanch, Glivena Vaz, about the installation of the OWC machine, she said that the OWC machine takes in 500 kg of waste every single day. "Previously, the burden of the wet waste would entirely depend on transporting it to common dumpsites, further away from the village. This, not only added to the delay in treating the wet waste, but also had problems with the logistics."
With the OWC devoted to the village panchayat, the wet waste is not only taken care of in the vicinity, but the end product is useful enough to be used back by the villagers. "The compost generated through the treatment of the wet waste by the OWC can be used as a rich manure to sustain fields and gardens alike,” she added.
How YIMBY functions?
Vaz also appreciate the efforts and dedication by team YIMBY and said that the YIMBY not only helps with setting up of the unit, but also looks after the systematic arrangement for the delivery as well.
"The operators ensure that the machine is running efficiently, and from time to time, adding the consumables such as sawdust to ease the process of waste treatment. The team has been instrumental in creating awareness about the OWC plant and its benefits, right from dealing with the wet waste to generating compost that can be used further.”
OWC in every village
A OWC can help villages across Goa, deal with the waste effectively. Vaz said "It is necessary for village panchayats to have an OWC set up within the locality. This is to make sure that the wet waste generated within the village finds a solution in the premises. This also reduces the burden on the common dumpsites, which expect, and receive, heaps of waste from all over the state."
The OWC machine generates compost, which when used by the villagers, can be seen as wealth derived from their own waste, and used for a good purpose.
Founder and CEO of YIMBY, Gaurav Pokle, who has been constantly seeking ways to bring in sustainable practices into the system, said, "We have taken several such initiatives towards bettering the environment across the state. It also shoulders the responsibility of keeping hazardous waste out of landfills."
When it comes to sanitary waste and diapers, the Material Recovery Facility at Nagoa also houses an incinerator set up by YIMBY, which is capable of tackling 1,000 sanitary pads and close to 100 diapers per day.