Individuals hold the key

Malhar Kalambe at a trash collection drive in Airoli

Malhar Kalambe, founder, Beach Please
Over the last seven years, I have seen a shift in the behavioural mindset of people. I believe that beyond government action and policy making, individual citizen participation is key to climate protection and conservation. There are things at the micro level that individuals can contribute to. Whether that is segregating your waste, avoiding single use plastic or reducing carbon footprints, it all adds up. Segregating your daily waste is something that I would recommend everyone in Mumbai should do. The waste on all our beaches, mangroves and the Mithi River, is washed up from domestic waste. At that point, segregating the plastic from wet waste is neither physically possible nor financially viable. Hence, they end up in the landfills adding to the pollution. Separating them at home, and avoiding single-use plastic, are simple but effective steps that can contribute to the larger interests of the city.