Inspiring Goa

Written by Jodie / 27 February 2010 / Read Jodie's latest blog entries.

I have come to India to continue with a waste management project set up last year at Triund, a beautiful mountain camp in the Himalayas and a four hour hike from McLeod Ganj the home of the Dalai Lama. In a quest for inspiration, recycling info and knowledge I have decided to visit various environmental projects on my way from Goa back to the mountains.

India Climate Solutions put me in touch with Clinton Vaz, a truly inspirational guy and probably the nicest man you’ll ever meet.  He has set up numerous recycling projects and is most certainly not in it for the money. It’s his life and if this man can’t persuade people to go green then no-one can!

We spent several days with Clinton, visiting projects and tagging along with him on his normal working day. We had the chance to learn about composting and have seen many different systems in action. Clinton is so committed to introducing people to the many benefits of composting that he virtually gives away the drawings so people can build their own units. We visited several of them at people’s homes, swanky hotels and the market in Panjim the capital of Goa, the cleanest market I’ve ever seen.

Panjim is no stranger to Clinton’s dedication, commitment and waste management expertise. In 2005 the city’s waste problem reached a climax and he was bought in to fix it. By separating the city’s 10,000 houses into 12 zones and painstakingly analyzing and weighing every business and households waste he was able to come up with a report and an action plan that stopped Panjim disappearing under a mountain of its own trash.  There are now over 175 composting units and 25 tons of rubbish is collected each day with 20 tons being recycled. This is sold for approximately 50,000 rupees and helps to pay for the service. If waste was segregated more efficiently at source it could generate an extra 25,000 rupees on top of that.

We got to follow one of the waste collectors on his door to door collection and were impressed to see how well the households segregate. They pay only a rupee per day but the waste is not collected if it’s not separated properly. Trying to find out who is illegally dumping on streets is difficult but is still tackled. Culprits are reported in the local paper and receive a fine between 50 -10,000 rupees. The maximum fine has recently given to a company throwing medical waste into a river.

Amrita, an environmental representative from Tetrapak came to visit Clinton whilst we were there which was really interesting. It’s good to see a big corporation trying to do something positive for the environment. Tetrapak packaging was not collected in Goa until Clinton made the necessary links. Rag pickers (people who collect garbage) now get 4 rupees for every kilo of tetrapak they collect. Scrapdealers ,the people who ragpickers sell their waste to get 8 rupees per kilo from Tetrapak. The problem is the cost and environmental impact to transport it to Vapi, 2000 km away where the tetrapak is then recycled. Each 9 ton truckload that goes from Bangalore to Vapi is worth 100,000 rupees. The cost of transportation is 20,000 rupees and is currently paid for by Tetrapak. The discarded packaging is then made into fantastic notebooks, beautiful roof tiles and building wall sheets. It’s as strong as concrete and the same price too.

Clinton has written ‘The Benaulim Green Book’ about his local area with info about how tourists can help. It contains a map, local facts, articles about the local wildlife, recycling info, important phone numbers , Many  of Clinton’s materials are copylefted meaning that sharing and use by others is not just ok it’s encouraged. The book is sponsored by Goa Tourism and is sold for 50 rupees with 25 going towards eco initiatives. Clinton is more than happy for us to adapt the book for Mcleod Ganj which could potentially fund our mountain camp project and maybe even more.

Clinton also does talks and workshops about recycling and composting but often only receives money to cover his petrol. He understands the importance of education and is dedicated to doing what he can for the environment and relentlessly teaches others what he knows. A qualified engineer, a snake catcher, a save the frog campaigner, an intrepid traveller - he’s just what India needs.

Thanks also to the India Climate Solutions staff for their valuable support and assistance. They’ve been a big help and a fabulous source of information.

 If you require further info about any of these projects feel free to email me at mountaincleaners@hotmail.co.uk. See www.video-india.com  for a short film about what we do.