The Go Green Hero Stories is a series of snippets of our green champions who have been actively bringing about a sustainable change and contributing to a good cause by composting their wastes and adopting green practices. We kickstart this with a spotlight on Mr. Bhullan Yadav, who works as a supervisor at Malhar Corporate Housing Society from the last few years.
Let’s get started!
- Tell us about yourself? What do you do?
My name is Bhullan, and I work here as a supervisor. I manage a team of 3- Balakrishan, Angad, and Kalpana. We work together to ensure effective waste management in society- starting from segregation of the waste at the source to using the wet wastes into our tumblers (RGGC Bio-Composters).
(He proceeds to explain the process, very enthusiastic and meticulous, not missing out any details)
We harvest about 20 Kg of compost from each unit. The process is very simple, let me tell you! We put in the wet wastes and add garden wastes proportionally. Bigger pieces such as cauliflower stems or Watermelon rinds are chopped up to make more space in the tumbler. We then add some cow dung every Friday and Tuesday, followed by 10 rotations of the drum. The compost tea is collected every day which is of great quality and we dilute it 1:10 ratio before using it for our plants. I can sense the plants are very happy, now that they’ve grown so tall!
We then proceed to harvest the almost-ready compost after a cycle of 30-40 days, leaving it outside for drying for another 10 days. By sieving, I get a very high-quality compost that has nourished my garden and an organic farm! The excess compost also serves as a means of additional revenue as we sell it for 30 Rs/Kg. The entire process is smooth, and the compost site is always cleaned twice a day!
This is very important to me, staying organized and keeping a record of what’s going on in every tumbler. We make a note of it!
(He pulls out some data from his harvest of Feb 2020, leaving me in awe at his interest and pride in the work he and his team does)
- Do you always segregate your wastes at home/society?
- Can you tell us why?
Before we started with the composting here with RUR, like many others, we used to give out our wastes to BMC. But now, everyone in the society segregates their wastes neatly. Wet wastes are kept separate. My team conducts another segregation before we input the wet wastes into the tumblers. Plastic bottles, biscuit wrappers, glass bottles are also segregated as they can be easily recycled.
This is important because right now, we only give around 30Kg to BMC, and remaining all the waste is used efficiently! My goal is to make that number a ZERO so that BMC can focus on other wastes that cannot be used.
When did you first start composting?
Why?
Initially, I tried setting up a composting system using an available waste tub. The process was a little messy, with a lot of smell which created a lot of problems. But we were determined to carry on with composting so the society invested in two RGGC Tumblers in 2018-19. The product worked very well and we got two more. The quality of compost is great and it very convenient! If people are curious, I always tell them how we make the compost, explain the working of the composting system and I happily recommend RUR to everyone!
Could you share your first experience with RUR?
Well I can say very proudly that I work with such a good composting machine. The RUR Team also has been very supportive with training me and my team to handle the equipment, teach us about the importance of segregation and the value of wastes. Whenever there was any problem, they would always come and help us out. I invite you to come to take a look at my wonderful garden, growing with fruits, vegetables, and beautiful flowers. I started this organic farm with seeds that I brought from my village back in Sept 2019 and haven’t looked back since. The compost tea quality and RGGC helped me in achieving my dream! Now I even have Paan (Beetle leaves), Neem, and even Banana that we distribute within the society! It gives me great joy to share this with them.
- How did you first come across the Go Green with Tetra Pak Initiative?
- Share details of the story, your feelings, expectations from the same.
The RUR Team informed us that the Tetra Pak cartons can be recycled. They taught us how to wash and store these cartons. Today we collect at least 200-500 cartons that everyone washes and gives it to my team. We then tie it up and inform the RUR team for pickup. In Feb 2021, we collected 850 cartons! It’s all recorded here in my notes.
It felt really good to be invited to the RUR event at Bandra where I was felicitated and given a platform to share my thoughts and achievements. The fact of being acknowledged and praised for what you do and not be looked down upon as a waste worker really makes me happy. Everyone should adopt this mindset.
- Any message you’d like to share to the community?
I just want to invite everyone and come take a look at what you can do, right at your homes! I hope the work that we have done in our society inspires others to take responsibility and even surpass us and grow even bigger gardens! I hope everyone in Maharashtra segregates their wastes and gives only what cannot be used so that it is easy for BMC to focus on non-recyclable waste.
Drive. Meticulousness. Empathy.
Mr. Bhullan portrays all these aspects and truly is a Go Green Hero.
Team RUR GreenLife Salutes you!