Welcome to another Trash Talking Friday, the only trash talk that is being used as a vaccine to change mindsets!

Each week, I send you Ideas to ponder about. Ideas that have the potential to change your life, and hopefully help you become a better human being by understanding yourself.

This week, the Trash Talking News Letter returns to your inbox after a prolonged absence, so to start off I would like to revisit one of the most basis yet essential elements of managing your waste; segregation!

Let’s get into it!

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Waste Segregation Tool Kit:

The origin of the Word “Segregate” is explained below as mentioned online in the etymology dictionary

“1540s, from Latin segregatus, past participle of segregare “set apart, lay aside; isolate; divide,” literally “separate from the flock,” from *se gregare, from se “apart from” (see secret (n.)) + grege, ablative of grex “herd, flock” (from PIE root *ger- “to gather”).

Originally often with reference to the religious notion of separating the flock of the godly from sinners. In modern social context, “to force or enforce racial separation and exclusion,” 1908. Related: Segregated; segregating.”

Now that you have a brief about the origin of the word in its historical context, let’s explore how it applies to managing your waste. To understand how to properly segregate your waste, we must first understand the general categories of waste that we generate in our households on a daily basis. This will not only assist us to understand the segregation process, but also help reduce the amount of waste we dispose.

Different types of waste generated at a household level:

1.    Organic: Most people think of organic waste simply as food waste, that ends up in our dustbins or in our backyard composter. But food waste can also be segregated and divided into different categories as mentioned below:

a.    Fruits & vegetables and other staple and FMGC food items that rot due to improper storage or not consuming them or have to be disposed of as they have reached their expiry date. (Both raw & cooked food)

b.    Food waste generated at the time of preparation for consumption. Example would include, peels of onions, apples, oranges, egg shells ect.

c.     Post consumption food waste: This would include left overs on our plate, which are disposed in most cases directly into the bin.

2.    Packaging: Various types of packaging waste is generated at household level as a result of our consumption habits. Some of the most common packaging found at the household level are:

a.    Plastic packaging: From shampoo bottles, cooking oil containers, take away food containers, poly bags, bubble wrap, protective casing and wrapping found on various products such as batteries, soaps etc. PET bottles, cosmetics and cleaning product packaging, bin liners, milk pouches, raw meat products related wrapping

b.    MLP: Multi Layered Packaging: Wafer packaging, packaging which contains items such as Haldiram snacks etc.

c.     Terra Packs: Milk, juice containers etc.

d.    Cardboard/Paper: Mostly from online shopping for various products & from food delivery, newspaper, envelops and A 4 size paper

e.    Bio-degradable plastic: take put food containers, bin liners, disposable single use cutlery

f.      Tape: Use to secure products and or packaging. Found mostly on the outside of cardboard and take away food containers.

g.    Aluminum & Tin: Cans, medicine packaging (aluminum), empty containers of oil and tinned food, deodorants and shaving cream containers (aluminum and tin), insect & mosquito product packaging (tin or aluminum)

h.    Glass: Empty alcohol bottles, cosmetic containers, cooking oil bottles, body oil bottles, empty jars (Pickles, Trail mix etc)

3.    Plastics: Besides the ones mentioned above that fall under the category of packaging, items such as broken buckets, mugs, flower pots, hose pipes, sanatory pipes, dustbins etc are also generated at a household level.

4.    Metals: Besides the packaging materials mentioned above, households also generate items such as metal hangers from drycleaners, aluminum and house metal waste from renovation work, discarded utensils such as frying pans, spoons and other such cutlery, old furniture

5.    Batteries: AA, AAA, battries used in remotes & other electrical equipment.

6.    E-waste: Wires, chargers, old landline phones, defunct electrical items such as hair dryers, irons, water heaters, room heaters, old TV’s and music systems, old 2G cell phones, kitchen equipment such as oven’s, mixer grinders, microwave, old electrical fuses, washing machines and refrigerators

7.    Glass: Mostly a mix of broken glass from various sources

8.    Wood: Mostly replacement or broken furniture

9.    Hazardous waste: Battries, soiled baby and adult diapers, used cooking oil, single use masks and other protective wear, old school mercury thermometers, expired medicines

So there you go, when you think about it and see it written down on a piece of paper, the list is exhaustive! So what can you do with the information mentioned above? For starters, you can start setting up a proper system of segregation at home. The infraction above will not only help you reduce your waste foot print, but will also help you save money! How? Keep reading!

The process of Segregation: Though the list is exhaustive, segregation is actually easier than you think. What needs to be done is for you to break down all the items mentioned above in broad categories as mentioned below:

1.    Organics: the first step towards segregating food waste is to go through your kitchen and fridge to figure out what is about to expire or go bad. Consume that first and if you can’t then donate it to a food bank or to the needy. Post going through this exercise follow the following steps:

a.    Before disposing check to see if some of the items can be reused or plated in pots.

b.    When disposing organic waste in your dustbin, do not use a bin liner, it just creates unnecessary waste.

c.     Compost your food waste at home. There are many great home composters available in the market today

d.    If you are not composting at home, then simply empty the organic waste out into the garbage collection vehicle. Wash your dustbin and repeat the process

2.    Plastics: You can mix different types of plastic and store it together. Special consideration must be given when disposing the following plastic waste in bins.

a.    Empty containers that may have remnants of food in them must be cleaned and disposed

b.    Empty milk pouches must be washed and then disposed

c.     To make room in your bin crush the plastic bottles. Not only does this make more space, it also ensures that the bottles cannot be reused again for the purpose of selling adulterated liquids for consumption.

d.    MLP can be disposed of along with your general plastic waste

3.    Cardboard: Paper & Tetra packs: Observe the following to store cardboard, tetra packs and paper prior to disposal:

a.    Break the cardboard down and flatten it so that it can be easily stored

b.    Flatten the newspapers out and stock them one on top of the other. You may use something to tie them together to make a small bundle

c.     Tetra packs: remove the cap, ring and cut the plastic mouth on the top. Dispose these off in plastic. Rinse the tetra pack container out and then crush it before disposing it.

4.    Metals: You can mix all your metals in one container. To make room in it, ensure that you crush the aluminum cans and compress the metal hangers with your hands prior to disposal. Discarded utensils or larger items can be put into a cardboard box. Insure the following for tin & aluminum products:

a.    Rinse tin and aluminum cans out thoroughly before disposal to ensure that there are no remnants of food left in them

5.    Batteries & E-waste: E-waste and batteries can be mixed together and should be handed over to the waste collector in a sealed or enclosed bag

6.    Glass: Bottles can be staked in a cardboard box, broken glass must be put in a double bag or put in a cardboard box to ensure the safety of the garbage collector. Use clear bags where possible so that the contents are visible.

7.    Hazardous waste: Hazardous waste such as PPE kits and face masks, diapers, should always be disposed in a lined bin. The bin liner should be clear in color so that its contents are clearly visible and should be sealed and handed over to the garbage collector.

The above information does not mean that you need seven bins at your home. In essence, all that you require is a three-bin system as mentioned below:

1.    Organics

2.    Plastic

3.    Hazardous

Everything else can be simply stored in cardboard boxes as mentioned above. That said, if you have the space, you can always add a bin or two for e-waste & broken glass. The process of segregating your waste solely depends on the amount of effort that you want to put into it, like everything else in life, but segregate your waste you must.

Caution: You may be wondering why I left out Bio-degradable plastic from this mix? The reason behind this is that it cannot be recycled nor can be composted in your backyard composter. In order for it to be processed, it needs industrial composting units where its broken down under a controlled environment and such units are far and few in our country. So, what ends up happening with bio-plastic or compostable plastic is that it ends up mostly in the landfill or in a waste to energy plant where its burnt.

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Have a fabulously sustainable week, and see you in your inbox on Friday!

Welcome to another Trash Talking Friday, the only trash talk that has been inducted into Modi’s new cabinet!

Each week, I send you Ideas to ponder about. Ideas that have the potential to change your life, and hopefully help you become a better human being by understanding yourself.

This week, in the Trash Talking News Letter, I share with you a part of a policy document (recommendations) I recently wrote for the NITI Ayog as core committee member tasked to formulate a forward looking policy pertaining to circularity and recycling in regards to hazardous waste and chemicals.

Let‘s get into it!

Request: If you enjoy this mail, kindly forward it to others in your network who you think might enjoy it too! If this mail is a forward that you received and enjoyed reading, sign up by sending a mail to [email protected]and start receiving this trash talk in your inbox every Friday!

Circular economy today needs to be more than just a buzz word. Across the globe policy makers are putting in place a circular frame work through drafting documents & introducing legislation to deal with the production of hazardous materials & their toxic effects on our environment.

Globally, many countries are in the process of or have already drafted policies and implemented legislation pertaining to toxic and hazardous chemicals. The EU has enforced REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) a comprehensive set of legal frame work addressing chemicals in use and requiring companies marketing chemicals to present a set of test data. The EU also has RoHS that restricts the use of certain hazardous chemicals in the manufacturing process of electronics and electrical equipment.

The US has TSCA (Toxic Substance Control ACT) and like always California has its own legal frame work called Prop 69 which includes a list of 800 chemicals and requires companies to publish a list of chemicals that are known to cause cancer, birth defects and other reproductive problems.

Here in India, along with hazardous waste management rules, in August 2020 the ministry of chemicals & fertilizers circulated the 5th version of the draft chemical management and safety rules (CMS) to a handful of stakeholders. These draft rules are based on the EU REACH legislation and the existing Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemical Rules 1989 (focusing mostly on prevention and management of accidents). This new daft is progressively forward looking and lays optimum emphasis on data. “No Data, No Market”.

India is also one of the major countries not to follow the UN‘s GHS (Global Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals) and these draft rules envision to that change that by incorporating GHS in the final draft due later this year (2021).

In view of the above information, specifically in regards to India and the new CMS rules, it becomes imperative that we first define what circularity & recycling means in order for us to recommend suggestions and actions for implementing a circular economy in toxic and hazardous industrial waste.

Circularity starts with designing and using the right materials for the manufacturing of products so that they may be recycled in perpetuity at their end of life using readily available conventional technologies present in the country or elsewhere. It all starts from the drawing board, selecting the most appropriate materials and chemicals even before the product ever sees the light of day. This thought process when applied with a critical mind, can simply design out the production of future toxic waste, replacing it with materials that can be utilized by others. This problem can be illustrated in the fashion industry. The question to ask is: who do you think has the last say in designing clothes, the design department or the chemical department? The answer is obviously the designer. Many environmentally progressive companies have overcome this by either educating their designers or by giving them a set list of chemicals to work with.

Hence in order for us to move towards a circular economy in toxic and hazardous waste we must start addressing the design and material aspect related to production. In my previous mail and in our sub-committee meet I have bought up the requirement of getting on board a material specialist who understands the novices of hazardous chemicals and materials used in the production process. This will help the committee better understand and suggest what materials can be used as replacements while keeping the end goal of circularity in mind.

Recycling is a crucial part of the circular economy, but unfortunately the term is increasingly being used to greenwash and flash flawed green actions to consumers and authorities alike. The goal of “true recycling” is that of converting the waste resource back to its original form, without sacrificing quality or integrity in the process. The recycled material should be at par with what was originally created using virgin raw material. As of now most waste material is either down cycled, incinerated or dumped. Given that there are serious limitations in practically implementing true recycling across the spectrum, we should envision implementing true recycling where possible. In fact, this is happening in many areas though not truly true recycling these waste materials and the processes of recycling them have managed to come pretty dam close. Example: paper, metals and now even certain types of plastics (HDPE, PET, to a limited extent), used automotive & DG set oil and cooking oil.

Personally, coming from a hardcore waste management background, I feel that one major flaw in majority of the policies is that of focusing on quantity of recycling over quality of recycling. From a government policy perspective and that of many companies, quantity is given emphasis in order to meet stated targets. Quality of raw materials on the other hand is ignored, but is a vital part of the circular economy as the output is only going to be as good the input. Since hazardous materials are common in all sorts of items, they naturally make their way into the recycling raw material eco system as well. This fact, besides causing environmental and health related challenges also poses a serious financial risk to the recycling industry, as end product material transparency is low and, in most cases, not available. This puts in question the growth of the industry as a whole, as large environmentally progressive companies stay away from precuring products that have low LCA and material traceability & transparency.

The crux of the problem here lies in contaminated material streams and the way forward should be the increased transparency in reporting of chemicals, toxic and hazardous contents in all materials. The end goal is to eliminate and greatly reduce the use of hazardous chemicals in waste streams through proper material selection, design and innovation. As mentioned above the use of recycled material can only be practically and financially viable if the end product meets the same criteria as virgin materials.

Policy Suggestions with time bound action plan:

Keeping the above-mentioned policy, legislation and definitions of circular economy and recycling in mind, mentioned below are policy recommendations to be considered, discussed and made a part of the final finished piece of art that this committee has been tasked with.

Support Industry Front Runners:It‘s imperative that the policy and subsequent legislation encourage entrepreneurship, innovation and best practices when it comes to achieving circular management of toxic, hazardous waste and chemicals. To achieve this the following is proposed:

Incentivise companies to phase out substances of concern

Create, encourage and secure a market for business producing safer products through tax incentives

Ensure efficient regulation and enforcement to ensure that the use of concerned hazardous chemicals is minimized in the manufacturing process, both virgin and recycled

Define the term essential use pertaining to the use of hazardous chemicals in production of materials. Essential use should mean “necessary for health safety or functioning of society” as stated in the Montreal Protocol and not essential for the profit of a specific company or continued use in any type of product in our society.

Remove red tape, speed up regulatory process & work with what‘s in hand:We know that there are many highly toxic chemicals being used in a verity of production processes to manufacture products. Instead of regulating these products based on available data, the process is postponed with the excuse that not enough data is available. With no real compulsion of companies to disclose data, hazardous chemicals and toxins are kept in circulation through continued production, use and re-use. The Precautionary principal is one major pillar on which the EU‘s chemical legislation is shouldered and can be used to take decisions even when all possible data is not in hand. We know that data is a major challenge here in India. To achieve this the following is proposed.

Set clear political targets to identify and speed up the process of banning substances of concern

Use the precautionary principal to avoid analysis by paralysis and bring in efficiency in regulations

Use REACH to identify substances of very high concern and ensure their effective substitution

Focus on regulating groups of substances instead of regulating specific substances on substance to substance basis

Enforce the “No data, No Market”principal and incentivize companies to disclose a comprehensive list of chemicals that they manufacture and or use in the process of manufacturing various materials

Transparency and Traceability: As the singular task of this committee is to constitute a document that lays down the blue print to move towards a circular economy in regards to toxic, chemical and hazardous waste, it imperative that regulations address the design and material selection aspects. This is critical to ensure that we achieve a circularity in managing hazardous, toxic and chemical waste. I have already mentioned in some detail that circular economy and recycling are two sides of the same coin and interlinked on their dependence on innovation in design and material selection much before a product is manufactured. Transparency and traceability are key to achieve a toxic free circular economy and also key to ensure that we don‘t promote toxic recycling by not knowing the chemical contents in recycled products.

To achieve this the following is proposed:

Time bound commitments must be mandated from companies to be fully transparent in the use of hazardous chemicals in the upstream and downstream supply chains.

Consumers should be made aware of the hazardous chemicals and toxins present in their products and packaging through proper labeling and detailed information on the said company‘s website

Apply equivalent chemical requirements for recycled and virgin products to ensure that we move towards a toxic free circular resource economy.

Targeting the low hanging fruits and closing existing gaps:I have covered a lot of this in suggestions mentioned in my previous mail and am making the same a part of this document for the readers convivence and reference. Mentioned below are certain additions to what has already been recommended in my previous mail to the committee. To achieve this the following is proposed:

Apply same regulations to imported materials and products

Use the REACH document to identify, regulate and minimize the use of EDC and PFAS in pesticides, cosmetics, food contact materials and more

One country one singular legislation and regulations because our environment is shared and the health and wellbeing of our citizens should be a national priority.

Strengthen the hands of states and union territories to ensure that regulations are enforced nationally.

Work with the committee drafting the CMS rules in India to ensure that there is no overlap and contradictions in two different policy‘s that are in essence targeting the same animal.

Previous recommendations as shared last week over mail with the committee are mentioned below for your reference: Reference Mail Dated: 7th April 2021

As discussed in the meeting today kindly find actions that need to be taken as per suggestions made by me in the last mail sent to members of this committee. For ease, I have mentioned the suggestion again on top with action points below every suggestion. Action points are mentioned in red.

Suggestion 1: Across the length & breath of our country hazardous waste continues to be managed by the unorganized sector from collection to processing. As mention in the meet the market needs to be opened up to private players authorizing them to collect, transport and store hazardous waste at their facilities or deliver them directly to processing facilities located around their region of operations. This is a policy related matter and will require amendments in the Hazardous waste management rules. This has the potential to not only encourage entrepreneurship, but also engage the unorganised sector which continues to be a vital support system in the collection, transportation & processing side, especially for MSME enterprises.

Action Plan Suggestion 1: First step would be to direct waste processors to start accepting hazardous waste from third party vendors. This would of-course happen only when the processing unit has spare capacity and the processor would have the right to charge the third party vendor a fee on a per kilogram basis with a minimum monitory guarantee. As of now majority of the processing units refuse to take hazardous waste from third party vendors and are engaged in monopolistic practises even though they do not possess the collection capacity. This has translated into a well-planned system of price gauging and over changing along with other malpractices, such as illegal disposal by companies & giving hazardous waste to unregistered vendors to save money and or get rid of the waste due to not being serviced by registered vendors.

There should be an open window for all third party vendors who wish to engage in the collection & transportation of hazardous waste from the generators site to the processors site to register and get authorisation to undertake such work. Permission should be granted based on the rules pertaining to transportation of hazardous waste. Rules pertaining to transportation of hazardous substances are very vague and the current hazardous rules do not outline them. As a matter of fact they refer the reader to the motor vehicle act 1988 as a reference point. The hazardous waste rules must define the criteria that is required in order for authorities to grant permission. This criteria should be detailed and cover all aspects of transportation, such as but not limited to type of vehicles, type of containers, loading & unloading procedures, safety equipment on board the vehicle to meet any unforeseen incidents & an active GPS system to track the movement of the shipment.

Transparency & traceability challenges pertaining to third party vendors can be met with strict electronic monitoring such as GPS enabled trucks, photograph and weight evidence from both from the collection point and the processing side.

Suggestion 2: Though there is a large list of hazardous waste processing units in different states mentioned on the CPCB website, the reality is that a lot of these units are nonfunctional or operating for name sake. The sector desperately needs more competition on the processing side for which we need to end the current cartels working in the sector. In the North from Sonipat, Gurgoan, Manisar, Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida & Gaziabad (not to mention numerous other industrial hubs) there are only a few organizations dealing with industrial hazardous waste. These organizations do not have the bandwidth to manage industrial hazardous waste being generated by large industries spread across three neighboring states. Priority financing must be made available to entrepreneurs looking to entire this sector to establish processing units.

Action Plan Suggestion 2: Geo tagging processing units across the country & then physically verifying these units. The other flaw that needs rectification from a policy perspective that of Point 6 sub-point (i) & (ii) titled: Grant authorisation for managing hazardous waste and other waste in the hazardous waste management rules. These sub-point rule state that any person authorised or engaged in recycling or processing of hazardous waste under the provision of Hazardous Waste 2008 prior to the date of commencement of these rules shall not be required to make an application for authorisation till the period of expiry of such authorisation. This must be changed and all authorised entities given authorisation under the 2008 act must be made to register themselves under the current rules. This exercise along with geo tagging & physical verification will vastly reduce companies operating only on paper and provide the authorities with a concrete assessment of the real processing infrastructure at hand.

Allow the trans-border movement of hazardous material for the purpose of processing only, by removing red tape. As of now, permissions from state pollution boards is required adding to delays, corruption (for issuing permissions to move goods) and creating artificial barriers to entry.

Large bulk generators of hazardous waste must be made liable on the same lines of EPR, both financially & operationally to erect processing infrastructure to manage their hazardous waste This can initially be done for hard to process or recycle material.

As far as the last point of providing financing is concerned, many of you may be surprised to know that the waste management sector of which hazardous waste is part of, does not have Industry status. In order for this sector to grow and investment to flow into it we must suggest to the monastery of finance and the ministry of commerce to grant this sector priority Industry status. Financing option should be budgeted into the Swachh Bharat budget every year for entrepreneurs wanting to enter and establish a business in this field.

Suggestion 3: Removal of arm chair consultants and inclusion of practitioners who understand challenges ranging from grassroot level to policy challenges. Practitioners who are actually working on the ground in the field of waste have a thorough understanding of the types of waste being generated across industries. These practitioners should not be limited to private players and the inclusion of players from the unorganized sector is a must. As mentioned in my comments during the meet, Google has spawned a new breed of arm chair consultants who have never got their hands dirty yet manage to be an expert member on every and any committee pertaining to waste management, environment & sustainability. Along with inclusion of practitioners, players from the unorganized sector there also is a need to include large polluters in the committee to understand their challenges and frame a practical road map that can be implemented.

Action plan Suggestion 3: Credentials of experts should be verified for practical hands on experience in their field. As mentioned we need more practitioners who have worked extensively on subjects such as sustainability, circular economy and waste management by demonstrating actual on ground impact. Flowery words and fancy job titles will not get the work done, we need india centric practical solutions that can be deployed on ground to make this a success.

Suggestion 4: Circularity or the circular economy starts with designing products or materials that can be recycled using conventionally available technologies in the country. Just processing something does not mean you have made a circular choice. Keeping this in mind we need to first start categorizing the different types of industrial hazardous waste being generated. The second step would be to measure this waste and upload all this data region wise on a central portal. This data would capture the name of the unit generating the waste, type of waste, along with the quantity. There are home grown APPS using AI and IOT available to capture this data & upload it to a portal backed by block chain to ensure data accuracy and reduce and, in some cases, remove data manipulation. Data is key, as if it‘s not measured, it will not be managed sustainably.

Action plan suggestion 4:As mentioned above circularity of a product starts from material selection, design and manufacturing process. In order for us to move towards a circular economy pertaining to hazardous waste management we must break this exercise into different parts:

1.     Data collection on types of hazardous waste being generated, in what quantity, which region, in what process and by which company

2.     Industry Participation: Working with these companies to establish best practises when it comes to material selection keeping LCA in mind. What are the materials that can be substituted for more environmentally friendly/recyclable materials, how can the industry commit to reducing use of such hazardous materials in their production process with definite time lines in place.

3.     Industry Collaboration: Bringing on board some of these large bulk waste generators as an extended part of this committee. We must have participation from all stake holders and these generators are a integral part of the equation.

4.     Using Technology To Capture Data: I have already mentioned above that are home grown AI apps using IOT and block chain technology to capture and disperse date on a central platform that‘s accessible to all.

5.     Educating ourselves & others: There is a dire need to educate not only the industry but also the authorities about proper management & processes involved in managing hazardous waste. Labelling is a big part of this and must be prominent, in your face and in easily understandable. The challenge with labelling is that most individuals handling waste at industries may not be educated enough to read them or understand them. In a country like India with regional languages given prominence, could we decide on a singular national label that clearly depicts the information to the waste handler. Yes we can, and I will be sharing some samples of labels that could be used for this purpose. Information pertaining to proper handling during collection, segregation, disposal in the correct containers, labelling on the containers, storage etc needs to be re-worked and made part of this policy draft.

Suggestion 5: Low hanging fruit must be plucked first. Lacks of drums both metal & plastic are classified as hazardous because they have some hazardous residue left in them. Majority of these drums end up in the unorganized second-hand market, where they are resold on a per kg or per piece basis to be used for storing liquid or other materials. As mentioned by Mr. Asitava Sen, CEO, Crop Life India, the process of triple rinsing should be mandated when disposing drums. Once triple rinsed, these drums should be classified as non-hazardous waste.

Action Plan Suggestion 5: Schedule IV of the Hazardous waste management rules that list easily recyclable hazardous materials does not list metal and plastic containers used to store hazardous material. These items must be included in the list of easily recyclable hazardous materials, with the understanding that the process of triple washing has been used prior to scrapping the material.

I believe that a document of such importance must not be vague and open to interpretation. It should be precise and easy to understand detailing every action plan in detail so nothing is left to the imagination. For this purpose, our team is going through the entire Hazardous waste management document and we shall revert with worded suggestions of removing vagueness from the current document and with what we feel must be implemented as per our industry experience of 15 plus years.

Have a fantastically sustainable weekend and I will see you in your inbox next Friday!

Welcome to another Trash Talking Friday, the only trash talk that has wrestled a bear to the ground, chilled with the great white shark in the middle of its feeding frenzy and whose rocket Bezos borrowed to travel to space!

Each week, I send you Ideas to ponder about. Ideas that have the potential to change your life, and hopefully help you become a better human being by understanding yourself.

This week, in the Trash Talking newsletter I talk about textile and footwear waste, how we can use certain principals to move towards circular consumption and a sustainable way of living. Note: This is a two-part newsletter. Next week I will share concrete examples of simple practices that you can inculcate daily to move towards a more environmental and financially sustainable life.

Let‘s get into it!

Request: If you enjoy this mail, kindly forward it to others in your network who you think might enjoy it too! If this mail is a forward that you received and enjoyed reading, sign up by sending a mail to [email protected] and start receiving this trash talk in your inbox every Friday!

Textile & foot ware waste: A guide to circularity & re-use

MRR (Maintain, Repair & Reuse) is the process that I have used for over two decades to look after all my belongings, after all it feels great earning money, (A penny saved is a penny earned) while at the same time doing your bit for our environment. The process of MRR can be applied to almost everything you buy, from electronics, cars, shoes, clothes, etc, but is mostly applied to high values items. Face it, you cannot go out and buy a new car, home, laptop, phone, bike, every month, every six months, or every year, unless you are like the bold headed uncle who recently flew into space on his penis shaped rocket.

Somehow this principal is conveniently forgotten when it comes to clothes and shoes. The fast fashion industry using principals of planned obsolesce and priming has over many years rewired our consumption habits from repairing, reusing, sharing, gifting to continuously buying and disposing. My father is military man, a retired Air Force Fighter pilot and as far back as I can recall, I remember him owning a few pair of shoes that he polished every morning and kept in immaculate condition, they lasted him a good decade. I was sent off two a catholic boarding school at a young age and for those of you who might have experienced life in a boarding school, it instils a certain level of discipline and accountability in you. Your bed had to be made, your shoes polished, a double knotted tie knot was compulsory and your shirt and pants ironed. Fast forward to one my many jobs of selling high end suits at Tip Top tailors a chain of retail store in Canada (over two decades ago), where I was first exposes to the unique concept of renting out tuxedos for various occasions, while attending college where my professor of economics would collect aluminium cans dumped by students after school to get a refund on them and would start off the semester narrating a story about his reversible belt and how small things done at regular intervals will help save you tremendous amounts of money over a period of time.

Why am I am telling you all of this? Because our experiences, what we see at home, what we learn in school define who we are.  You are either taught to be sustainable (environmentally and financially) or you circumstance either force you to make sustainable choices. With that said, let‘s see what we can all do to limit our individual impact on the environment by deploying the principals of MRR and the circular economy to the clothes in our closet and the shoes in our draws.

Educating & Setting an Example: Not enough can be said about educating our children and our sphere of influence when it comes to changing mindsets. Children at home, school or at a social setting learn more by seeing their parents and peers. Young adults these days are influenced more by social media influencers and their peer than by anything else and adults, parents and the elderly though fixed in their ways are overwhelmingly influenced by their children and young adults.  You may not realise it, but it‘s all interconnected to a principal that I like to refer to as “Individual responsibility, for collective good” of our society and environment at large. So, let‘s start by setting the right example for our children and the younger generations by showing them the path by practising it ourselves. Imagine the possibilities if everyone took responsibility and accountability for teaching sustainable action to their sphere of influence!

Changing the narrative: That shit is cool and dope bro! That‘s what we need to start hearing more of more often when someone wears the same jeans for three days straight, owns a few pairs or shows, keep them looking brand new and rotates wearing them every few days, or when you wear the same outfit over the years to different social outings or you rent a dress, suit or bag for a party or buy second-hand clothes or use a upcycled bag made from discarded clothes. You get the point right! It‘s cool to re-ware, it‘s cool to reuse, it‘s cool to save, it cool to be sustainable and along with increasing your social quotient, it helps your finances too. The narrative has to change and, in this case, we have to go back in time, in order for us to move forward. Precise examples of how we can change the narrative will be shared in next week‘s newsletter.

MRR (Maintain, Repair & Re-Use): As mentioned in the beginning of this article, the MRR process is a critical part of any sustainable practise. When you look after your things they last longer, they continue to look fresh or relatively fresh, when they break or tear, you repair and re-use. Videos and examples of how I personally deploy this principal in terms of looking after my clothes and shoes will be shared in the second part of this newsletter next week.

Request: I am sure that many of you are deploying various methods and practises of your own in regards to reducing your waste footprint. I would request you to kindly share your stories and journey with me so that others may learn from your experience. Once a week, with your permission, I will share these individual stories for all to read through the medium of this newsletter and our social media channels.

Have a fabulously sustainable weekend & see you in your inbox next Friday!

Welcome to another Trash Talking Friday, the only trash talk that has been won an Olympic Gold for talking trash!

Each week, I send you Ideas to ponder about. Ideas that have the potential to change your life, and hopefully help you become a better human being by understanding yourself.

This week, in the Trash Talking newsletter I talk about robotic bees and how they are being used to pollinate fruits and vegetables.

Let’s get into it!

Request: If you enjoy this mail, kindly forward it to others in your network who you think might enjoy it too! If this mail is a forward that you received and enjoyed reading, sign up by sending a mail to [email protected] and start receiving this trash talk in your inbox every Friday!

What is pollination:

Simply put, pollination is the transfer of pollen from the anther, which is the male part of the flower, to the stigma, which is the female part of the flower. Certain flowers are self-pollinating, where the anther passes to the stigma within the same flower. Here is an interesting fact: flowers pollinated by bees most often bloom in day time. They have different colors, but seldom the color red.

Many fruits and vegetables that we eat require pollination. From avocados, soybeans, asparagus, broccoli, celery, squash, and sunflowers for oil, cucumbers, citrus fruit, peaches, kiwis, cherries, cranberries and melons. For other crops such as blue berries and almonds, the honey bee is essential. Its estimated that about 80% of the US crops for these two items are pollinated by honey bees.

The Challenge:

Climate change, pesticide use, habitat loss, have played havoc in the lives of bees. Although they are not in immediate immanent threat of extinction, their number along with that of vitally important insects are dropping globally. The humble bumble bee seems to have taken the brunt of this man-made disaster in the making.

Also, as the population of the world rises, so does the demand for food and the need to increase agricultural yield to feed the ever growing amount of mouths.

Introducing Pollination Robots:Entrepreneurs and their start-up’s across the globe are now using artificial intelligence to help pollinate plants, with tests already underway with an Australian company ready to deploy a fleet to robotic bees to pollinate tomato’s in its greenhouse.

The Technology & Company behind this: Deep learning has evolved over the past decade to improve the ability of AI (Artificial Intelligence) to recognise images and mimic the human brain. Using this deep leaning and AI, start-ups have been able to develop a robot that is capable to accurately identify flowers for pollination.

These robots are being developed by an Israeli company by the name of Arugga AI farming. Their robots travel down a row in greenhouses, identify what plants need to be pollinated using AI and cameras and then blast air at the flower to pollinate it. The company claims to have one algorithm to detect flowers anywhere in the world and has captured tens and thousands of images and videos using each frame as a separate image.

Use Case:In majority of the countries greenhouse owners pay who grow tomato’s pay for bumble bees. Tomato’s, unlike other crops pollinate themselves once vibrations shake the pollen free and bumble bee use vibrations from their flight muscles once they land on the flower. But in Australia, there are no bumble bees in most of the country and import of them is restricted due to strict bio-diversity laws, hence Australian greenhouse farmers growing Tomatoes have to rely on human workers using a vibrating wand to shake the plants, in an effort to mimic the bumble bee. So, Costa group Holdings Ltd, an Australian grower who tested these robots and was more than satisfied by their ability to deliver the desired results is now deploying them in hordes across its Greenhouses.

It’s my personal belief that many of the things that we have seen in sci-films will eventually come true, with the hope that these innovations will help better our quality of life while protecting our environment. Innovation is agriculture is much needed here in India, where the importance of improving agricultural yield is of utmost importance, while reducing and eventually doing away with chemicals and pesticides used to protect and increase farm yield and reduce wastage.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s newsletter! Wishing you a very sustainable and happy week ahead and see you in your inbox next Friday!

Data transparency, pertaining to waste is a massive challenge here India. As always, what does not get measured & monitored, does not get managed sustainably. From municipal waste, to hazardous, medical, e-waste & all sorts of recyclables, numbers are thrown out by the government & industry bodies, picked up by papers, consultants and quoted with little due diligence done on their part. 

Measuring and monitoring different types of waste is the first step towards putting in place an effective plan of managing waste sustainably. But how does the government & various industry bodies come up with their numbers? Most rely on population metrics, dividing the population of the country, region or city into three categories. Low income, mid income & high income & then allocating waste generation metrics based on their purchasing power & consumption habits. 

These are crude assumptions at best, as they fail to take into account various metrics such as waste generated from floating population of cities, tourists, slums, unauthorised colonies, waste that remains uncollected, illegally dumped, disposed in rivers, drains etc along with the change in consumption & spending habits of the population at large. Further, when it comes comes to waste, whether plastic. e-waste, hazardous waste or other recyclables, sub classification & measurement is completely missing. For example, how much plastic, what type of plastic, how much paper what type of paper etc is being generated from residential, commercial & industrial establishments? Same goes for E-waste & hazardous waste. Per capita generation of these types of waste is impossible to predict, because it’s not being measured, managed mostly by the unorganised sector & industry producing such waste, or selling it in scarp is not reporting numbers in a transparent manner. 

Attack the low hanging fruit, For Example:

1. Large bulk generators of waste, by first having them report category wise the amount of waste generated, disposal method & name of collection agency
2. Target registered recycling units and have them detail how much domestic waste they have recycled & how much was imported category wise. 
3. Large & small GST registered aggregators can be tapped to find out how many recyclables have they traded category wise, from where did they receive the goods, and who were the goods sold too. GST billing can be used to track movement of goods along with random spot checks. 

The toughest part of collecting data will be from the unorganised sector. But believe me, they keep an account of the amount of waste they have collected, as this is source of revenue for them (Generating revenues from selling recyclables). The great thing about the unorganised sector is that they segregate everything to the T & note it all down in a register. A crude form of accounting, but accurate in terms of providing precise waste generation data according to category.

The other challenge is of course, municipalities and their stated claims of collection, processing and disposal. In many of the non metro cities, waste is just collected & dumped by contractors in open dump sites where its not measured, let alone managed! In metro’s there is massive manipulation on weigh bridges on dumpsites, no classification on type of waste disposed & in what quantity, let alone capturing the huge amounts of waste being disposed illegally. 

This data is gold! Not only will it help the government understand consumption habits based on type of waste generated better, it will provide information that can then be used to implement an effective plan to reduce and manage the waste sustainabilly. Not only that, it will provide information to the government to curb non essential scrap imports into the country disguised as recyclables. Characterisation of the waste, will asset in implementing better polices to tackle and put an end to certain packaging waste that is hard to recycle, along with introduction of better material selection and design practises when it comes to packaging material & consumer products such as electronics. Documenting and registering thousands of individuals, small operations, clinics, hotels, slum dwellers, unregistered processing units will start providing a real picture of how much waste is being generated, collected, processed & dumped. 

This is massive exercise that our country must start to undertake now. Just like a population census, we need a waste census according to category to be conducted every two years, while implementing a automated system of reporting with counter checks in place from generators, collectors, aggregators, & processing units feeding into a nation waste portal available for one and all to study. 

Waste needs to be clarified as a national resource. This will help move india forward in a self sustainable manner. It is criminal that a resource of such importance, that can help create millions of additional jobs (over and above the ones it already provides), reduce India’s dependancy on imported raw material, spawn a new dawn of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country is not being measured effectively, let alone being managed sustainably.

Start Up India, Make In India, Digital India, Incredible India, Atmanirbhar Bharat, you don’t need to think too much to realise that their success is directly related to how well we manage this critical resource that we call waste!

Jago India, Jago!

To End: Here is Quote From Our Honourable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi

“My experience in Gujarat shows that howsoever big a problem might be, it is not insurmountable if we have the will to act. ” Narendra Modi

Welcome to another Trash Talking Friday, the only trash talk that walks the talk! Each week, I send you Ideas to ponder about. Ideas that have the potential to change your life, and hopefully help you become a better human being by understanding yourself.

This week I talk about, 1) different types of waste we collect from homes 2) what happens to the waste post collation 3) resources to learn more      

Let’s get into it!

Request: If you enjoy this mail, kindly forward it to others in your network who you think might enjoy it too! If this mail is a forward that you received and enjoyed reading, sign up by sending a mail to [email protected] and start receiving this trash talk in your inbox every Friday!

What happens to your waste? 

Many of you have sent me messages wanting to know what really happens to your waste after we collect it from your door step every month. Firstly, for all those who are part of our monthly packaging collection drive, thank you! For you are playing a vital part in helping us manage your waste by segregating it. This week’s newsletter is all about your trash and what ends up happening to it. 

The first step of managing waste is of course trying to reduce the amount you produce through modifying your purchase and consumption habits. None the less, it does not matter how hard we try, waste will be produced and it must be managed in the best possible manner utilizing all available recourses at hand. 

In general, we receive the following types of waste from residential collection:

1.     Cardboard 

2.     Mixed paper, tissue & news print

3.     Plastic 

4.     Glass bottles & broken glass  

5.     Metal & wooden hangers 

6.     Aluminum and tin cans 

7.     Clothes and shoes 

8.     E-waste 

9.     AAA and AA batteries

10.  Bio-plastic & compostable plastic

Segregation is the first step of the waste management process. Even though you have put in the effort to segregate and clean your waste, it does not mean it can be sent directly to the recycling facility! Why? Well there are many reasons as mentioned below: 

1.     Each type of waste has to be further classified into different categories. For example, plastic has seven different categories, cardboard has five different categories, metals have different categories and so does household paper. Clothes and shoes have to be graded, plastic coverings need to be removed from E-waste, glass bottles have to be sorted according to size and type etc. Kapish! 

2.     Most mills and recycling facilities only take their respective type of waste in volumes and this makes the most economical sense for a business like ours 

3.     We cut out middle men traders and deal directly with the recyclers. These recyclers require the product to be provided to them in a certain graded manner. 

4.     The additional process at our facility adds value to the raw materials. 

What happens to my waste? 

Cardboard: As mentioned cardboard comes in five different verities! Colored, brown board, imported, rolls (toilet paper & others) support pillars (Rigid pieces uses as support in large packaging). Different grades of paper for different purposes are made from these different types of cardboard and they all command a different market value. So, once we collect this waste from you, it’s bought to our facility where its segregated into these different types, bailed (compressed, buy putting in a large machine) for ease of transportation and then sent to the paper mills for recycling. The only challenge in cardboard is the support board calles phanti in scrap language), as most of the time it comes with a filler that not accepted by mills. Once mills receive the cardboard from us, they pulp it and recycle it into large rolls of paper of different GSM and BF strength that is then supplied to box manufacturers that make cardboard boxes out of it.

Read LinkedIn in article detain how the cardboard and waste aggregation market works. Link at the end of this article. 

Mixed paper, tissues and newspaper: Mixed paper and tissue waste is again segregated at our facility into different qualities. Tissue separately, colored paper separately, white paper separately based on brightness and type (copy, A4, book, legal etc), laminated paper & glossy paper separately and sent to the mill for the process of recycling. In certain cases, we shred A4 size paper and then supply this to large wholesalers of vegetables and fruits for the purpose of using it as cushioning in the process of packaging produce. Paper has many grades and as mentioned in the start of this article, the more you segregate and grade the more value you add for yourself and the recycler. Newspaper, received from homes is first removed and neatly refolded and tied in bundles and then loaded onto the truck and sent to the mill for the purpose of recycling. 

Plastic: Well, majority of the questions have been in this regard, so here we go! There are seven different types of plastics as mentioned below with their codes. 

1.     PET: Polyethylene terephthalate

2.     HDPE: High density polyethylene

3.     PVC: Polychloride

4.     LDPE: Low density polyethylene

5.     PP: Polypropylene

6.     PS: Polystyrene 

7.     Others: (fiber, bio plastic, compostable plastics, nylon, acrylic etc)

PET: All those mineral water bottles, soda bottles, oil bottles, some shampoo bottles, juice bottles etc, are all made of PET. Additionally, PET thermoform packaging is used in a wide variety of products such as take away containers, battery covers etc. PET is the world’s most widely used material. Once this material is collected from your homes, the process of further segregation starts at end. This entails color sorting the bottles, removing labels on them, removing the caps, some bottles have metallic rings and metallic caps, so removing those are vital. Post this the bottles are bailed according to color and sent off for recycling. Majority of the PET is downcycled into polyester clothing (75% or more). Once again, the more we sort and grade the better value we receive from the recycling unit. 

 To understand this process properly kindly read the detailed process document written by me in a recent article on LinkedIn, the link to which has been provided at the end of this article. 

HDPE: This is one of the most commonly recycled products. Products made of HDPE are shampoo bottles, detergent containers, milk containers, etc. HDPE is commonly known as polyethylene and comes in many types but can be classified as low density and high density. Once we receive this material from homes, its sorted according to how clean or contaminated it is as dirty unclean product effects the recycling process adversely. This is one reason as to why we request you to rinse and clean your containers before giving it to us. Post segregation HDPE is sent to recycling facilities where its washed thoroughly, contaminants removed and then granulated which are then further converted into new products. Some products made from recycled HDPE are toys, pipes, benches, tiles, large drums and more. 

PVC: This type of plastic is easily recycled. Products made from PVC include pipes, cable coating, garden hoses, automotive parts, polyvinyl flooring and more. PVC plastic once received by us, is segregated and cleaned before it’s sent out to processing units to be recycled into new products. 

LDPE: Belongs to the same family of HDPE. Think garbage bags think LDPE, think poly bags think LDPE, all those e-commerce plastic packaging is mostly LDPE. Besides this tubing, plastic parts for computers and host of other products are made from LDPE. Once received, this material is graded according to color, cleaned and then sent out to recycling units where the product is recycled into new products for reuse again. 

PP: This type of plastic is one of the most commonly used plastic in the world. The caps on your soft drink bottles are made of PP. Besides this PP has many other uses such as its used to make cutlery, containers for home cleaners, disposable cups. PP once received is again sorted according to color and type, cleaned and then sent further for recycling where it’s again recycled into newer products ready to be re used again. 

PS: The packaging foam that you get in your e-commerce packaging, Styrofoam single use disposable cups, egg cartons, many cheap take away boxes, plates and spoons are made of this material. Styrofoam as it’s commonly known, is actually the brand name of a rigid blue insulation made by Dow Chemicals. The biggest challenge with this material is to do with contamination, while all other plastics are relatively clean this type tends to get excessively dirty. Have you eaten on plate made of this material? Chances are yes! Take a look at it next time to see how dirty it gets! The other challenge with this material is that of transportation. Lot of volume, little weight, which makes transportation an expensive proposition. This material is not easily recycled and mostly ends up in the landfill. As an organization we send this material to a waste to energy plant (This is not recycling and should be discouraged) as a last option and tend too not accept it in our collection stream unless the client is willing to pay a fee for collection which most don’t agree too. Majority of the recycling of this product happens in the unorganized sector in a manner that far from desirable. PS is recycled into pellets that are then converted into items like toys to building insulation. 

Other: The biggest green wash taking place right now constitutes of material which fall under this category. Bio-plastic or compostable plastic, or plant-based plastic or the many feel good name that are given to these products to make consumers feel good about their purchase and consumption decisions. Packaging with the code 7 is not recyclable and mostly ends up in the open landfill dumps or getting burnt. Many cosmetic, food delivery companies, and a host of other organizations are pushing such materials onto ill-informed consumers playing on their fears. 

Glass bottles & broken glass: Glass bottles and broken glass are all recycled and re-used to some extent. For bottles, we segregate them according to type and size. For example, small beer bottles of the same size are all clubbed together, wine bottles are all clubbed together, whiskey bottles are all clubbed together. The caps are removed and these bottles are then sent to bottling plants where they washed sterilized and used again to serve you your favorite beer, whiskey or wine. This business of bottles being reused is of course a risky business, as we need to make sure that it ends up directly with the bottling plants. The reason behind this that adulteration in liquor is rampant in India and many of the branded bottles are sold by the unorganized sector for this purpose. 110 rupees per empty carton is the going rate for a well-preserved Jonny Walker Black carton that houses the bottle. Many of the bottles specially imported whiskey and wine are broken before they are sent further for recycling as they are no reuse options available from manufacturers. In some cases, we supply empty bottles to individuals that upcycle them into new products such as light holders, glasses etc. 

Broken glass when received is sorted according to color, post which it sent for recycling where it’s turned into cullet’s of different sizes by grinding and crushing it. This material is then washed and cleaned, removing contaminants, melted and molded into new glass products. 

Interesting Fact: Glass is made by heating ordinary sand to a point till it melts (1700 degrees Celsius!) and consumes vast amounts of energy to manufacturer.

Metals and wooden hangers: All those hangers from dry-cleaning and broken wooden hangers are all sorted according to type. The metal hook on the wooden hanger is removed. The wood is then sent to recycling facilities, where it’s shredded and converted into powder that is then used as a filler in many items. The metal is bailed and sent to the smelting unit where its melted and converted into new products again. 

Aluminum & tin cans: Aluminum & tin cans are all recyclable. Once we receive these, they are sorted, contents removed, bailed and sent to respective smelting units. 

Note: Aluminum cans contain a thin layer of plastic in them. 

Clothes & shoes: Textile waste is one the largest and biggest problems faced globally. Most of your torn clothes end up in the landfill or get burned. The biggest challenge among textile clothing is polyester, which is made from plastic waste. This as of now cannot be recycled, although there are a few inactivates at a very small-scale level tying to upcycle these products. Cotton clothing that is given to us in decent form is mostly recycled, or repaired and sold. Panipat in India is the recycling hub for textile waste. Recycling or reusing this waste is tedious process which entails sorting according to type (male, female, pants, skirts, jeans etc.), size, quality, fabric type, condition. A lot of what is collected is sorted in this manner, graded, repaired and exported to African countries or sold in local markets in India. Decent condition cotton clothing that we receive is sent to Panipat where the cloth is shredded and converted into thread that is converted into yarn for clothing. 

Shoes: As of now majority of the shoes are not recycled, although rubber soles are removed and sent for recycling. We are in the process of establishing a network of cobblers that repair shoes that we receive so that they can then be sold again. Unfortunately, most shoes end up in the landfill. 

E-waste: Majority of the E-waste generated in our country is handled by the unorganized sector in unauthorized facilities that burn the waste to recover the precious metals within. Dismantling and recycling E-waste requires specialized equipment and must be done in a controlled environment with great ventilation. For this purpose, our organization has tied up with one the world’s largest metal and e-waste recycler to ensure that all waste is treated systematically and in the most environmentally sound manner. Unfortunately, in India, there is very little recycling of E-waste happening in the formal sector, hence most of the E-waste is dismantled and exported abroad for recycling. The irony of the situation is that India is one of the largest importers of Gold and it continues to allow this raw material buried in e-waste to be exported, while importing finished gold bricks in mass volumes. 

Note: Even our partner does not recycle its waste in India. It dismantles it and then sends it to its facility abroad for the purpose of recycling. 

AA and AAA batteries: These are toughest to recycle here in India as there are very few genuine recyclers of this product. We suggest that you always buy rechargeable batteries to minimize the amount of AA & AAA battery waste generation. The other challenge is that the Indian battery market is dominated by Zinc carbon cells which are not rechargeable. Most batteries that we receive are sent to our E-waste partner. In Indian most AA & AAA cells end up in the landfill, so please buy rechargeable batteries from known brands.  

Bio-Plastic, Plant Based Plastic & Compostable Plastic: None of these are what they claim to be. These products need an industrial composting facility to treat and will not decompose in your backyard composter. Further, abroad many industrial composting units have refused to accept this material as they degrade the quality of compost produced. This material cannot be recycled using the conventional mechanical method of recycling and contaminate the recycling waste stream. In India most of this waste is disposed in landfills where it does not degrade in absence of oxygen. What we get, we send to a waste to energy plant. 

MLP: Not recyclable, whatever we get we send top the waste to energy plant. 

What is important to understand is that majority of the waste management sector in India is unorganized and there is serious need for infrastructure development from collection to processing of all sorts of waste. Further, I hope that through this article you realize the amount of effort that goes into managing your waste properly. This is one of the most capital- and labor-intensive sectors, that has been ignored for far too long. It not only holds massive potential to generate employment, create wealth at the bottom of the pyramid, but also holds the massive potential of realizing the dream of Atmanirbhar Bharat by the manes of using waste as resource. 

Want to learn more! Check out these indebt articles on the subject matter: 

1. PET collection, segregation, aggregation, value addition business in India
2. The business of cardboard scrap in India
3. Economic of scrap collection business in India 
4. Calculation cost of logistics, collection and aggregation in India
5. Warehousing labor & more

Have a fantastically sustainable weekend!