The House of Hiranandani Upscale on OMR took measures that would help residents to seamlessly view the festival through a sustainability filter.
The House of Hiranandani Upscale on OMR took measures that would help residents to seamlessly view the festival through a sustainability filter.
The House of Hiranandani Upscale at Igattur, Old Mahabalipuram Road, has taken an impressive step towards sustainable festivities, which are likely to prove exemplary for the geographically defined communities that celebrate the festival in large numbers.
The gated community has come up with a set of guidelines for responsible management of festive waste generated during the season.
Disseminated ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi (one of the biggest festivals celebrated by the community), the guidelines are being carried forward as a sustainability template for every major event celebrated in the community, Onam and Dussehra celebrated recently. He is going.
The Society’s Green Team led by Shalini R, Sabita Menon and Rajeshwari Harish, recommendations include use of colourful, labeled bins to dispose of bio-degradable and non-bio-degradable waste at the venue, use of biodegradable cutlery, SWM Involves transmitting protocols. For private caterers, creating awareness and reducing food wastage through frequent announcements and messages.
The core team members of Green Team explain that the 10-day Ganesh Chaturthi festival was extensively attended, which was the perfect showcase for these zero-waste practices. With the support of the team that organized the festival, the guidelines were broadcast on various communication channels guarded by the Apartment Association.
“During the festival days, we had volunteers from the green team requesting people not to waste food, and if they had to throw food away, they had to leave it in the right bin,” says Rajeshwari.
Keeping up with the messages made a big difference. community generated
bring your own container
For distribution of prasad, messages were announced encouraging residents to bring their own dabbas. “For the large crowd, the number of people who brought their own containers was small, but the message clearly reached the community,” she says.
“We were expecting a huge crowd during a weekend, but the turnout did not live up to the expectations, so the food was packed and sent to service-based organizations that could feed the needy,” says Rajeshwari.
Children contributed to the initiative by designing posters motivating people not to waste food.
make it a standard
Onam was the next big event in the community’s calendar where the guidelines were reiterated. And similarly for Ayudha Puja. She adds, “In November, the community will have a children’s carnival with zero waste as a broad theme.”