Diwali 2022: Here’s how these organisations in Mumbai are helping people manage dry and edible oil waste

Diwali festivals come in with a lot of work and preparations, starting from cleaning up the house as per the tradition. From dry waste including paper, plastic, clothes to electronic and food waste, the festive season leads up to the accumulation of all kinds of waste in great amounts. According to data provided by ReCircle, a waste management organisation based in Mumbai, Solid Waste Generation increased by 22 percent (from 900 Metric Ton to 110 Metric Ton / daily average) in Mumbai, during this period.

Often households engage in disposing of these waste materials together without segregation in local dumping grounds, due to lack of knowledge about waste segregation or the willingness and time to do it. Every year, waste management organisations in and around Mumbai ramp up their efforts to raise awareness about proper disposal methods and conduct special collection drives at residential areas during Diwali.

Mid-day Digital reached out to Aditi Devrukhkar from ReCircle, a resource recovery enterprise focusing on recycling and reusing resources and Dr Smita Birkar, founder and director of 5RCycle Foundation in Mumbai, to know about their Diwali campaigns for dry and edible waste collection this year.

Collection of dry waste

Image credit: ReCircle

Dry waste forms a major part of waste accumulated during Diwali, mainly including plastic and cardboard waste. With the lack of proper disposal channels and facilities for segregation, people end up dumping such waste in dumping grounds and landfill sites. Many of these materials can be recycled if disposed of correctly.

In the second edition of their Diwali Waste Collection Drive -2022, ReCircle managed to collect at least 3000 kgs of waste in their first week, a 100 per cent growth from last year over the same period. The drive was aimed at collecting and processing 10,000 kgs of waste from over 200 registered people across 60 pincodes in the city.

"Through the drive, not only did we aim to generate awareness and create convenient channels of waste disposal, but we are also driven to redirect this value from landfills, back into our economy," says Devrukhkar.

Moreover, 100 per cent of the money raised in the collection drive will be donated to the St. Catherine of Siena School and Orphanage to be used towards fulfilling the daily requirements of the children as well as addressing their nutritional and educational needs.

According to Devrukhkar, the members have witnessed a positive change towards waste management among people, who are willing to change their perspective towards unwanted and recyclable materials.

"If you start looking at waste as a resource you will save each and every dry recyclable. The more we recycle, the closer we get to a circular economy and that is our vision," she adds.

While the campaign ended on October 16, people can still reach out to ReCircle via their Instagram page or through their website ReCircle.in to donate their dry waste.

Disposal of cooking oil

Image credit: 5RCycle

One cannot talk about Diwali festivities without mentioning the special sweets that people wait to gorge on and also share with their neighbours, friends and family as a part of the tradition. Households engage in preparing these various types of sweets and snacks, which are often deep fried or require a great amount of oil, ghee and other oil-based ingredients during their preparation.

Mainly, people engage in throwing away the remaining oil either in their sink or in open sewage channels or reuse the oil at least twice or thrice. This discarded oil then enters the sewage system or water bodies and due to the immiscible properties of oil with water, it ends up clogging the channels and contaminating the water sources. Moreover, as per Birkar, the proportion of total polar compounds (TPC) in edible oil alters with multiple re-use.

According to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, it is not permissible to use reused oil with more than 25 per cent of TPC. These compounds greatly influence an individual's health by affecting lipid metabolism and causing stress related impact on the mind and body.

While there is considerable awareness among people about recycling dry waste, not much is being talked about managing the waste edible oil, an utmost important constituent of waste during Diwali. Birkar's 12-member team at 5RCycle is aiming to do just that.

The team will be running a campaign via WhatsApp, internet and print medium using messages, videos and flyers about why households should responsibly treat the edible oil waste generated during the festival and otherwise too and what can be the impact on their health and environment if a process is not followed.

She cites the following steps:

a. People must not use cooking oil more than two times.

b. Once the oil is not fit for consumption, pack it up in a small glass container, once it is at room temperature.

c. They can reach out to us and our team will collect it.

d. The collected oil is emptied in huge drums at our collection centres.

e. The recyclers working in collaboration with us collect these drums and carry out a process to convert the oil into biodiesel, which is then used as a biodegradable fuel in various sectors.

According to Birkar, they have a registered donor base of 5000 people, who have pledged to participate in the drive, while they hope for more residents to join with time and awareness on social media. While logistically they are established, convincing people to manage waste correctly is the only challenge that the members face during their daily activities.

"People are prone to reusing the oil again, because they have a set mindset that it is okay to do it. If people accept the fact that even edible oil needs to be treated properly and that it can be recycled, maybe we can win half the battle," concludes Birkar.

People can reach out to 5RCycle.org to participate in the campaign.

Also read: Why is it urgent to manage E-waste at personal and organisational levels?