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Just like plastic waste problem, segregation of solid waste is also considered one of the biggest challenges faced by urban areas across the globe and India is no behind. Karnataka’s Bengaluru produces nearly 3,000 to 5,000 tonnes of solid wastes every day which is generated from households, hotels or small food stalls.
People do not understand the need of segregation of solid wastes. Even knowing that it’s an alarming situation, a handful of people are practising it. To set an example to all, Anand Raj, Radio Jockey-turned-businessman in Malleswaram, Bengaluru came forward.
Raj who is 45-year-old running a juice shop. It is his family business also. He intends to make it zero-waste by reducing the quantity of wastes. While, talking to a media portal, he said, “I just couldn’t throw the existing plastics in the shop into the dustbin. So, as an initial step, I decided to give all the plastic waste from the juice corner to Bengaluru’s Dry Waste Centre – they help in effective recycling.”
His juice centre sells no packaged drinking water. Also, they provide the customers a steel straw. His juice shop is Eat Raja which also serves homemade dishes prepared by his mother.
Anand says, “I decided on the concept of ‘Eat Raja’, which means whatever you will get here will be homemade. I also saw how the business used to generate a lot of waste earlier – be it in terms of cups, straws, PET bottles and carry bags. When I took over, I decided to get rid of this legacy of waste, and that’s how our journey from being a humble juice shop to becoming Bengaluru’s first zero-waste juice corner took place.”
In an interview, Anand also said, “Earlier, we collected beer and Breezer bottles, and used the stem of the banana plant to cover the bottle to prevent the drink from spilling. We also serve juice in watermelon shells without a straw.”
Talking about following sustainable practices, he said, “While segregating waste, we put the citrus waste in one bin and the fruit waste in another. We make bio-enzymes out of the citrus waste, which is not only used to clean the steel straws but also to manufacture floor cleaners, PET washes, and detergents.”
He makes and sells bio-enzymes for Rs 100 per liter in re purposed bottles. Environmentalists Vani Murthy and Meenakshi Bharath taught him to successfully manage solid waste, and to make bio-enzymes out of it.
His juice centre also works on BYOB — bring your own bag or cutlery for takeaway orders instead of providing plastic wastes. Taking a step forward, he now has decided to serve juice in fruit shells.
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