Dispose, don8217;t chuck

Consider this - on a Mumbai-Pune train journey, roughly 500 plastic cups used by the passengers to drink tea/coffee are flung out of the ...

Consider this 8211; on a Mumbai-Pune train journey, roughly 500 plastic cups used by the passengers to drink tea/coffee are flung out of the window. Five such trains ply daily between the two cities, to and from the point of departure. This makes a total of 5,000 plastic cups along the Mumbai-Pune railway tracks. This figure excludes the non-biodegradable litter of torn polythene bags and plastic food packets that also find their way there. This calculation, made by the World Wide Fund for Nature 8211; India, Pune division WWF, is enough to make one sit up and take notice.

It certainly made the WWF do just that. From June 5, 1998, on the fifth of every month, a group of volunteers from this NGO would board Mumbai-bound trains and try to persuade passengers not to litter the tracks. This was just part of the Clean-Green Railway Project launched jointly by the WWF and the Central Railways.

8220;When Anil P. Kumar, a WWF member, suggested such a project to the then Divisional Railway Manager, N. Arvindan, it was readily taken up and launched on World Environment Day in 1997 with a cleanliness drive at the Pune Railway Station,8221; says Jayashree Oberoi, project officer, WWF.

The project was undertaken in phases, beginning with the training of the railway staff to adopt better solid waste management practices. 8220;We had to contend with various aspects of the problem 8211; like a proper waste management system, the volume of waste and the habits of the passengers8230;

8220;The garbage generated on trains is mainly plastic and paper, that in canteens is primarily wet waste and the garbage littering the platform is a heterogeneous mix. All of it used to be dumped together,8221; says Oberoi, 8220;We focused on the separation of wet and dry waste.8221;

After the initial research, the project core group 8211; comprising staff of the Pune Railway Division PRD, citizens active in waste management and the WWF staff 8211; got down to work. The project did not confine itself to the railway tracks and platform alone but extended to include the residential area of the railway staff. Training programmes were conducted for the catering staff and cleaners at the railway quarters and the station. 8220;Lata Shrikhande and Sheila Christian, both involved in vermiculture, were called to explain the technique of vermicomposting,8221; says Oberoi.

The training was put into action at the Pune Railway Station, where a vermicompost pit was dug. It will be operational in another fortnight and around 50 kg. of canteen waste will find its way there, says P.D. Chaudhari, chief health inspector, PRD. A similar pit has also been dug at the railway quarters. 8220;After some convincing, the residents finally agreed to separate waste,8221; he says.

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In keeping with the project objective of greener railways, in October 1997, a donation of Rs. 76,000 by Atlas Copco was used to plant trees near the Kasarwadi and Shivajinagar railway stations. 8220;In January this year, the railways planted another 30,000 plants along the Pune-Lonavala tracks,8221; says Railway Public Relations Officer Y.K. Singh.

The standard practice of throwing plastic bags and cups out of the train window was another major source of concern. 8220;Only the air-conditioned coaches had dustbins. Today, both the Deccan Queen and Pragati Express have a dustbin near the washbasin. The year-long passenger awareness campaign undertaken by WWF volunteers also roped in the catering staff, who8217;d advise passengers against littering,8221; says Oberoi.

On June 5 this year, puppet shows, street plays and poster displays were held at the Pune Railway Station to highlight the issue of cleanliness. Mumbai-bound trains today carry posters warning against littering, and similar messages have also been printed on paper napkins.

This combined effort has helped create awareness and initiate action towards a cleaner environment. It is now upto the passengers to continue on this track.