World Environment Day

Our environment always gives us more than we give it! Yet we are never satisfied and keep hankering for more! Excessive mining, construction activity, using fossil fuels, wastage of power and water, pollution, usage of non-biodegradable things like plastic, littering, open defecation are just some ways in which we keep harming the environment.

Let's all pledge to protect Mother Earth and conserve all natural resources as much as we can.

Reduce, reuse, recycle and repair should be our mantra henceforth!

Here are some ways in which we contribute our mite towards this dictum:

1. We reuse everything that can be reused by either repairing it or recycling it. We use old vessels or containers as planters.

2. We avoid single-use plastic.

3. We use public transport only.

4. We don't own a television set, AC, car or any fancy gadgets.

5. We don't waste water and electricity. We use LED bulbs. We dispose off kitchen water in the potted plants on our terrace. We keep lights switched off as much as possible. We unplug our electrical devices when not in use.

6. We dispose off unwanted items; empty, used milk pouches and newspapers at the scrap-vendor's shop only.

7. We reuse all the pamphlets that come with our daily newspaper, by making scrap-books out of them. We make decorative or even useful items out of waste material.

8. Most of our kitchen waste goes into our flower pots.

9. We use detergents  very sparingly.

10. We don't keep on painting the house every year, thereby reducing the pollution due to chemicals released by paints and the rubble caused by scraping off the earlier paint.

11. We give away old clothes, footwear and bags in good condition to charity.

12. We are vegetarian.

13. We buy a tiny eco-friendly idol of Lord Ganesha for Ganeshotsav and immerse it later in a bucket and pour the water and clay remnants into our potted plants. All our decoration for the festival is made at home. We are now considering installation of a metal idol that can be used permanently.

14. We travel by trains while going for our vacations.

15. We plant saplings and seeds and nurture them. We even share them with those who want them. We use organic fertilizers and pesticides.

16. We have pledged for body-donation so that even our organs are not wasted and benefit needy people. Only the electric crematorium for us!

Theme: Environment. Paper cuttings and book covers

Theme: Lord Ganesha! Discarded thermacole and greeting cards. This was before the thermacole ban! Now the thermacole 'pillars' have been discarded.

Theme: Newspaper cuttings stuck on art-paper and then laminated. The plastic flowers were gifted to us. They have been given to a scrap-vendor after the plastic ban. The base covered with red and black patterned blouse piece, is actually a discarded wooden shelf, belonging to our generous neighbor! The rangoli plank is a discarded one.

Theme: Paper flowers and coconut trees 'planted' inside Calcium-tablets' containers, with a cloth curtain and paper streamers made by me, as a back-drop! The stems of the flowers are old pens. The stems of the coconut trees have been made by rolling pamphlets. The old shelf serves as a plank for making rangoli.

Here are some snapshots of 'Best out of waste' made at home, by me: