What happens to your milk cartons, old clothes and other waste you dump in your garbage bin? They are disposed of in a dumping ground, left to rot in their own time, releasing toxic fumes, poisoning the environment and contributing to an unmanageable waste problem.

For all those who shudder at this thought of environmental degradation, there is an easy alternative.

In an effort to show consumers how more than 90 percent of household waste can be recycled, a group of six parents of students of a suburban school came together last week to organise an exhibition ‘Hara Bhara Jhola Mela’.

Calling themselves RUR (short for ‘Are you recycling’), the group exhibited charming knick-knacks, utilitarian marketing bags, notebooks, envelopes and much more — all crafted out of household wastes. “We are all parents of students of Rishikul Vidyalaya in Bandra. Our interest in conservation has brought us to meet several people in the recycling business and we slowly learnt many secrets of green living. We wanted to put up an exhibition to showcase our ideas on zero waste management, eco-shopping and healthy food,” said Monisha Narke, one of the organisers.

Soon, Monisha and her five core friends were spreading the word and collecting volunteers. “We wanted to have a mela before Diwali so that we can tap into the festive mood. Fortunately things fell in place: 14 friends agreed to volunteered, we found a ground floor house at Juhu to hold the exhibition, and all the green businesses we knew agreed to join in for the cause,” she explained.  

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