VRINDAVAN GARBAGE MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE
(Vrindavan Kuda Prabandhan Pariyojana) 2010

Supported by: UNDP-GEF Small Grants Programme, GTZ-India, Sir Ratan Tata Trust, GAIL India, World Vaisnava Association (WVA), Indian Oil Corporation

FOV evolved a strategy to help alleviate the garbage collection problem in a financially self-sustaining way, which has been fairly achieved over the past 3 years under the VKPP project. A community owned entity has been created which has been instrumental in evolving this partnership network. FOV now has the experience of over a decade of urban garbage collection, street cleaning and door-to-door interactions, a model which has become highly practical and replicable.

New technologies have been introduced to bring a change to the old systems. Garbage collection rickshaws were introduced in place of the old fashioned handcarts, which contain bigger amounts of garbage. Garbage ramp facilities were built to ease the garbage loading system which not only saves time and labour, but can easily replace the satellite dumping sites

Pilot Project Area: The Vrindavan municipality area is divided into eight zones (sanitation wards) for providing basic sanitation services. The whole of sanitation ward no. 3 has been adopted by FoV for the implementation of the pilot project, alongwith some parts of sanitation ward no. 7. Sanitation ward 3 is situated in the middle of the town and is very important from different aspects. This project area contains four market places, six residential areas, major temples and shrines.

Garbage collection: The house-to-house and shop-to-shop garbage collection is done generally once in a day and sometimes twice a day during peak festival seasons. Large community waste bins have been put in every area to throw the garbage, which are regularly emptied. The vegetable scraps are collected from the vegetable market every afternoon and a huge is sent to the composting units for recycling. Special attention is given to the temples, ashrams, hotels, restaurants, community halls, and street food vendors. Trained people are recruited to collect wastes from the ashrams, mutts, temples and vegetable markets. The wastes from the house holds are segregated for the second time, before sending it to the recycling units.

GAIL (India): The Trustees & management committee of FoV express their gratitude to GAIL (India) Ltd. for supporting us in our inititative of cleaning and green Vrindavan by the donation of new vehicles.

Recycling of Organic wastes: The 3R theory of Reduce Reuse & Recycle the waste has been propagated under this programme. The organic kitchen waste and floral waste are being recycled in the vermi-composting units. The composting sites have been built in five different locations which produce approx. 50 quintals of organic manure per month.

Bio Medical Waste: is collected daily from different clinics, hospitals and nursing homes The staff are trained to segregate the waste in different colored plastic bags which is then sent to a common facility in Agra for incineration.

UNDP GEF Small Grants Programme, Sir Ratan Tata Trust and GTZ ASEM HANDMADE PAPER UNIT:

Dr. Regina Dbe, Senior Advisor & Head, Sustainable Urban Environment, GTZ-ASEM was present in March 2010 for the inauguration of the calendaring machine and the fully automatic cutting machine for the new finishing department of the handmade paper unit which has enhanced the papermaking facilities and production at FoV as part of VKPP.

Yamuna Seva Programme & World Vaishnava Assoc (WVA): In Nov 2009 FoV launched the Cleaning of the Yamuna Beach. The project was inaugurated by His Holiness Baba Sevak Sharan and R.M. Moudgill, President of the Tangent Group.  The project will cover 1km. stretch of the river from the Devaraha Baba Samadhi to Banshi Vat (the cremation ground). The project will focus on cleaning the river front from the human/ animal excreta, carcasses, plastic bags, ritual wastes etc. so that the devotees can take a holy dip in the sacred river. The WVA & GAIL (India) has generously donated cycle rickshas and collection vehicles and funding to help facilitate this initiative.

Environment Education: Different schools are participating in this programme. Painting competitions, craft competition and exhibition with recycled products, rallies, padyatra, cleanliness drives are organized with the schools to bring the awareness among the future generations of the town. Three schools have been partnered in this programme for the environment education and environmental awareness programmes are organized every month in those schools.

Vrindavan Bandhu Co-operative Society: This society helps our employees to fully grasp the changing conditions in Vrindavan. Monthly meetings afford the opportunity of sharing their opinions and making alternative suggestions to the cleaning techniques and to update solid waste management conditions in Vrindavan.