A composting philosophy of a Chennai resident

Just walk the talk in your turf and you will never be alone in your mission

Many households would be populated by an uncomfortable mix of people. Sticklers for best waste management practices, would share the dining table with laggards. The family would be polarised over the contents of the trash bag. The sticklers would likely tear out their hair in frustration.

Imagine a scenario where a green champion lives on a lane populated by the extended family and friends. Would the frustration get multiplied?

In normal circumstances, probably yes. But here is a rare situation, where the green champion took a balanced view of the situation, and the results seem to be showing.

Anandhi Sabesan lives on Lilliput Lane in Kilpauk, and she is among the sticklers. There are eight houses on the lane, including hers. Her neighbours are either family or friends.

Anandi composts the wet and green waste down to the last shred; and keeps the dry waste aside for a recycler to take it away every Saturday.

She wants to see Lilliput Lane (a cul-de-sac and a private lane) turn into a 100 percent composting zone. She is idealistic enough to aspire for that state, but also sufficiently realistic to know that task not of Lilliputan, but Brobdingnagian proportions.

She went in for the low-hanging fruit. Anandhi first got her mother, 91-year-old Suganthi Natarajan to practise composting. The mother lives in a house right behind Anandhi’s, and the daughter ensured that her mother would get the helpers to segregate waste properly and have the biodegradable waste composted.