In May this year, India launched the campaign Meri LiFE Mera Swachh Shehar. The initiative is aimed at strengthening the objectives of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 and aligning with the central government’s LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) movement that focuses on mindful utilisation. At the core of the campaign lies the idea of RRR - reduce, reuse, and recycle – which has initiated a movement across India involving citizens to achieve the goal of garbage-free cities.
In Visakhapatnam, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) has started several RRR centres across different zones. These centres not only work as one-stop kiosk for waste donation (used clothes or fabrics, toys, electronic waste) and dissemination, some of them also have a collection of reusable products made from recycled waste item. Here’s a look at the six RRR centres which have a unique theme and will become permanent fixtures in the city.
Children Play Arena, Yendada (Zone 1)
A cheerful play area made with used automobile tyres greet visitors at the recently-inaugurated RRR centre at Yendada. Apart from the play area, there is an indoor space which has racks decorated with used toys collected from all other RRR Centres in Visakhapatnam that are upcycled and refurbished. “About 1.6 tonnes of automobile tyres were used to create the play area. We have started reaching out to schools so that children can make use of the centre and also learn about waste management ways,” says GVMC Commissioner CM Saikanth Varma. An experienced teacher from GVMC’s Balyam Centres will be overseeing the centre and conducting the awareness programmes.
The centre is operational from 10am to 4pm.
Your Home Garden, KRM Colony (Zone 3)
Spread across an area of 5,000 square feet, this RRR centre houses a nursery of 600 plants and a composting unit which has a capacity to accommodate wet waste from 1,000 households. The centre is run in collaboration with Visakhapatnam-based social organisation Waste Connect. One of the main objectives of the centre is to conduct awareness programmes on ways to segregate dry and wet waste at homes.
“Waste generated at homes forms the major contributor to landfills as it is a mixture of different components that are recyclable, non-recyclable, and hazardous. Most people think that waste segregation at homes is a big task. Through our workshops, we demonstrate how waste segregation can be done on the go. These daily choices and little actions have a profound impact on the environment,” says Shalini Peddada of Waste Connect. The place will work as a model centre for collecting segregated waste and delivering it into recyclers.
Women’s Rest-O-Cafe, Jagadamba Junction (Zone 4)
Hanging lamps made with discarded energy drink cans, well-spaced seating arrangements made with used automobile tyres, selfie spaces and wall art designed with discarded potato chips and noodles wrappers are some of the highlights of the newly-launched Rest-O-Cafe catering primarily for working women of the area. With a compact snacks and beverages menu, the centre is open for 24 hours and managed by the team of Waste Connect. Located at the busy commercial area of the city, the cafe aims to provide a space for working women to unwind and relax over a cup of coffee.
Like in other RRR centres, this one too serves as a waste collection centre and has various bins allotted for specific types of wastes like single-use plastic, used clothes and shoes and other miscellaneous wastes.
Used Textile Upcycling Centre, Gajuwaka (Zone 6)
Thanks to fast fashion and mindless consumption, textile waste forms more than 20% of landfills in every city. This RRR centre aims to reduce the textile waste as well as reduce plastic bag usage. As part of this, GVMC has involved six women from self-help groups (SHG) who are managing this centre and converting the used fabric collected from all RRR centres into cloth bags which are sold at the same place.
“We also have 10 stalls across Visakhapatnam which sells cloth bags among other eco-friendly and sustainable products,” says GVMC Commissioner Saikanth. The centre also offers source of employment to the women from the SHGs.
Rethink Waste Craft Centre, Jyothi Nagar (Zone 5)
Transforming waste into decorative products, this centre showcases ways to upcycle simple things like grocery cardboard boxes or tea powder boxes into goodie bags, used denims and t-shirts into doormats and coasters, waste paper into paper toys, among other products. Managed by Waste Connect, the centre also conducts workshops on ways to upcycle trash to treasure.
Book Cafe, Tagarapuvalasa (Zone 1)
The Book Cafe has a small seating arrangement made with upcycled used tyres and racks stacked with used books. Here, people can walk in, pick up a book and enjoy in silence while sipping a cup of coffee. “The books here are non-academic and from fiction and non-fiction genres. We have made a modest beginning with around 200 books, which were donated at our RRR centres across Visakhapatnam. The idea is to make this a space for people to come connect with books as well as a collection point of different kinds of wastes,” says Saikanth.
GVMC is planning to open two more theme-based RRR centres at Pendurthi and Anakapalli, which are at a proposal stage right now.
