Joshy Cherian's innovative idea is promoted by Suchithwa Mission

Thiruvananthapuram: The man who designed the three-tier kitchen bin, Joshy Cherian, was in Thiruvananthapuram recently. But would you believe that it took one and a half years to come up with a design that looks so simple? The bin, for which Mr Cherian has filed a patent, solves one problem which the existing single laundry basket bin has. Many a time, the bin would be full before the waste becomes compost. The three-tier bin gives ample time for compost to be formed.

“We considered various options. Like, say, using two separate containers of 30 litres. But this would prove too huge for old couples. It is after a lot of thought that we came up with the three-tier design,” he says. His company is the only service provider which Suchitwa Mission has listed to supply them. Perinthalmanna municipality would be the first local body in Kerala to try out the bins. The Corporation is likely to send a work order by February. It is expected that 15,000-20,000 houses will benefit from it.

He used to teach biology at St Thomas College, Palai, but describes himself as an organic farmer. In the nineties, he bought land in Coimbatore, which he wanted to cultivate organically. He first started replenishing the soil. “Earlier, we would feed the soil, and the soil would feed the plant. Chemical fertilisers directly feed the plant. That’s where the problems started,” he says. He calls waste a huge resource. In Bengaluru, he works with an NGO called Solid Waste Management Roundtable. “Waste was being dumped in nearby villages. After the Swacha Graha programme had started, 10 lakh houses started treating the waste at source level itself,” he says.