Today, I gave a small presentation on "Solar Powered Compactors for efficient waste collection and Source segregation for generating power through organic waste" at the Big Ideas for Chennai, Madras Day event. The details are available in the above embedded presentation and hence I don't want to explain all the technicalities again in this post. Though the presentation was created for audience in Chennai, it is very much applicable for every city/town across India.
People who watch the BSNL Sports Quiz on DD Podhigai (Tamil) channel might be familiar with the above person - Yes, it is Dr. Sumanth who hosts that show. He was the coordinator and the main organizer of this event. Basically, the team had requested us to send some ideas that can make a difference to our city and my idea was one among the 16 or so ideas that were selected. Some good ideas were presented in this event and we hope to see some of our ideas implemented in the future. Once the videos are uploaded to Youtube, I will link to them from this article - Be sure to check back.
This is Vincent D'Souza, the co-host and the founder of The Madras Day/Madras Week events. If you live in Chennai and are not familiar with the Madras Day events, have a look & like their facebook page for updates.
On my presentation, I can only tell people one thing - Waste is Money and almost everything can be recycled and reused. We can generate cooking gas/electric power from organic waste (food waste, vegetable leftovers, etc). We can extract gold, platinum and copper from e-waste (cell phones, computers, etc) and recycle items like plastic, glass and metals.
But only if we initiate compulsory Source Segregation (separating organic waste from inorganic waste, at source) any waste management/recycling can be achieved. I really wish our entrepreneurs could come up with innovative waste recycling methods - With the amount of waste we generate, this is a huge opportunity in waiting!
