2023-08-23
Location: Ward no. 19 (New Haridwar Area), Haridwar
Date: 2021-03-10
Aviral Provides Organic Holi Colors In Exchange For Waste To Residents In Haridwar As Part Of Its Ongoing Kooda Daan Abhiyan Campaign
In the days leading up to Holi, Project Aviral conducted three rounds of door-to-door campaigning for the residents of New Haridwar Area, educating them on the different types of waste streams (Dry, Wet, Domestic Hazardous) and the practice of source segregation as, enabling the diversion of 60 kgs of dry waste (including plastic waste) away from the Ganga.
With the goal to reduce plastic waste entering the Ganga by enabling households to initiate waste segregation practices at home, the Aviral team conducted a Kooda Daan Abhiyan Campaign in Ward 19, Haridwar, across four days. Residents were educated about source segregation, the impact of dumping mixed waste on the municipal waste management system, and the working conditions of informal waste workers.
To cement positive behavioral change, residents were encouraged to participate in the plastic waste collection initiative called Donate Your Waste or Kooda Daan Abhiyaan which included three days of door-to-door awareness generation and a waste donation event scheduled on the 4th day. On the day of collection, an e-rickshaw vibrantly decorated with banners about the project and segregation instructions, made rounds of the neighborhood mobilizing residents through a loudspeaker to donate their dry waste.
Team Aviral, along with an informal waste worker managed to sensitize 145 households on waste segregation and motivate 59 households to donate their dry waste. As a token of appreciation and to mark the festive occasion of Holi, Aviral distributed organic Holi colors to participating households.
All the segregated dry waste collected as part of the event was taken by the informal waste worker for further sorting. He was appreciative of the fact that he received segregated waste and through the support of the community could avoid the hazards of handling mixed waste..
This was Aviral’s fourth Kooda Daan Abhiyan event in Haridwar. The team was happy to see that most residents were already aligned with the objective of the campaign, and promised to lend their support in segregating waste going forward. Children were especially enthusiastic participants in the event as they could be seen ecstatic on receiving organic colors and motivated towards making a clean and beautiful Ganga a reality.
