Sahastradhara: A Zero-Waste Tourist Destination Program
1st Quarter Progress Report (July-September, 2019) In Partnership With:
Supported By:
Sahastradhara Waterfalls
Sahastradhara Entry
Why Sahastradhara? ➔
Himalayan ecosystems, from forests to waterfalls, are now facing immense pressure. Rapid developments in these tourist hotspots – from haphazard construction to growing piles of mixed waste – is now hurting our shared natural resources. Since 2012, Waste Warriors Society has been working hard in Dehradun, Dharamshala, and Corbett landscape to raise awareness on cleanliness, waste segregation, and composting, by working with local authorities and active citizens to provide sustainable community-based solutions.
➔
Our goal for Dehradun’s Sahastradhara is to transform it into a zero-waste tourist destination. We’re working on SWM services, public awareness-raising and community engagement programs. We want everyone who comes there, lives there and works there to understand the importance of keeping these waterfalls clean and free from littered, dumped, and burned waste. Each person can become aware of the impact of individual actions on sensitive ecosystems, and we’re working to help them make better choices for a cleaner future.
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3
Q1 Progress (Jul-Sep) Key Stakeholder Engagement ➔
Program Inauguration
We officially launched our Zero-Waste Tourist Destination program on 14th Sept in Sahastradhara's main market area, where 15 public-use dustbins were also installed.
➔
The inauguration was attended by Additional District Magistrate, District Tourism
Officer,
Irrigation
Dept.
Secretary and Chief Engineers, and Former Gram Pradhan (Sahastradhara). There was a meet-&-greet with Anisha Narula (Lead-CSR, MakeMyTrip), few short speeches, ribbon-cutting for our re-designed public dustbins and IEC signboards. ➔
The
guests
also
heard
supportive
comments from local business owners who are a key part of this initiative, which has the potential to positively impact their tourist-centric businesses by keeping their areas clean.
Meeting with Irrigation Dept. ➔
➔
Meetings with DM and SSP
We have handed an official letter to
➔
We approached the office of the
the Irrigation Dept. requesting them to
District Magistrate (DM) and Senior
allot
Superintendent
us
land
that
is
under
their
of
Police
(SSP),
jurisdiction that we require to establish
requesting them to allot a police picket
a Dry Waste Collection Centre (DWCC)
at Sahastradhara to enforce action
and composting enclosures.
against littering, dumping, and burning
Our team is following up regularly with
of waste.
officials at the Irrigation Dept. to do our
➔
The Police are hesitant to initiate this as
best to expedite the land allocation
they
process.
officers in that area during the peak
are
currently
tourist season.
only
assigning
Q1 Progress (Jul-Sep) Solid Waste Management Operations ➔
To keep the Sahastradhara marketplace
Better Public Dustbins
and main areas where tourists gather, we’ve installed 30 dustbins. These are placed
strategically
so
that
each
dustbin is clearly visible and accessible. ➔
Earlier,
tourists
would
throw
their
garbage either at corner spots or in the river. Now they have started using our dustbins. Nearby businesses like some maggi points have also started asking tourists and travellers to use the dustbins!
➔
In the first phase of our door-to-door
Door-to-Door Waste Collection
collection services for dry waste, we are targeting business establishments in the main market as they are the primary bulk generators in that area and most tourists gather around there. ➔
In
the
current
collecting
an
off-season, average
of
we
are
5
kg
recyclables and 120 kg of wet organic waste mixed with non-recyclables each day.
➔
In the first quarter, we haven’t yet been allocated land for our DWCC. After daily waste collection, our Green Workers used to store their filled waste bags at certain areas in the marketplace, but we knew this was impractical.
➔
We approached Uttarakhand Tourism and they allowed us to temporarily use an
abandoned
tourism
department
restaurant as storage space for our collected waste.
Temporary Waste Storage Space
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Q1 Progress (Jul-Sep) ➔
We have allocated five Green Workers
Lane Cleaning & Maintenance
along the 1.5km winding road and lanes of the main Sahastradhara area. They start work at 9am every day with door to door collection from the establishments. ➔
They then empty and clean all the dustbins installed, as well as sweep the road and lanes clean, and also use litter-grabbers in tougher areas like the river-side where tourists do litter.
Community Awareness & Outreach ➔
In first phase of our awareness-raising
Awareness Sign Boards
initiatives, we have printed and installed eight bilingual awareness sign boards that are aimed at sensitizing people in the main tourist areas to keep their environment clean and to use the dustbins around them. ➔
Shopkeepers
helped
us
install
the
signboards and have expressed their interest in directing tourists and their customers to use the dustbins provided.
➔
We have distributed awareness material along with 57 reusable waste sacks among businesses in the main market.
➔
The
awareness
poster
explained
to
individuals visualises how to correctly segregate
their
recyclables
from
non-recyclables and food waste. ➔
We briefed locals about the importance of waste segregation, of composting, of saving
recyclables,
and
separating
non-recyclables and hazardous items.
IEC and Waste Sack Distribution
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6
Q1 Progress (Jul-Sep) - By The Numbers: Activities
Targeted
Achieved
Pending
100
57
43
Metal Public-use Dustbins (chained)
50
30
20
Awareness-raising signboards
12
8
4
Swachhta ke Sipahi (active members)
20
2
18
Events with DMC/Local Bodies
2
1
1
Composting Enclosures (dry leaves)
10
-
10
Area Beautification (murals)
10
-
10
Anti-littering placards (buses and taxis)
550
-
550
Clean-Up drives (with IEC canopy)
12
-
12
Clean Business Program Enrollment
30
-
30
Community Engagement Programs
12
-
12
Door-to-Door (IEC, sack distribution, collection)
Moving Forward - Upcoming in October ➔
12th October - We’re coordinating community awareness-raising with the support of college student volunteers. We also have two active members from the local business community who will join us to raise awareness amongst their fellow shop-owners.
➔
19th October - We’re organizing a clean-up drive to clean over 20+ existing black spots that are extremely littered, or have formed as the result of dumping from various nearby hotels. These places require special attention and need to be cleared. A good method is through a community-driven clean-up drive.
➔
We are making and installing the final batch of 20 dustbins in the area, which will help us reach our target of 50 visible and accessible dustbins for public use.
➔
We are on the hunt for experienced mural artists who can work with school children, college students, as well as local community members, to make two murals in a collaborative, fun, and engaging way.
REDUCE | REUSE | RECYCLE Head Office Address: Waste Warriors Society 136/2/2, Shivam Vihar, Jakhan, Rajpur Road,
dehradun@wastewarriors.org @wastewarriors1 www.wastewarriors.org
Dehradun, Uttarakhand, 248001 +91 78952 67144
Waste Warriors is registered under the Indian Societies Act 1860 - 243/2012-2013 Registered Address: 24 Pritam Road, Dalanwala, Dehradun, 248001