Waste-free country, a reality?

Ever wondered how many litres of water we waste while flushing our toilets? Compare it to the thousands of public toilets, including those in schools, which are not in use just because they lack water. This one thought sparked off an idea in Chennai-based architect Vishnu Priya S — to make a documentary titled Meel (recover) about eco-san toilets and intelligent waste disposal, thus putting an end to manual scavenging. Vishnu Priya talks to DC about the initiative, and the aim behind it.

“It all started while chatting with friends about the plight of toilets in government schools. When I looked into it, I found that most schools didn’t have toilet facilities and even if they did, they were locked, since they did not have water. This became a problem for students, especially girls, who found it tough to use toilets when they had their periods. This is, in fact, one of the main reasons why girls stop going to school after they hit puberty,” Vishnu Priya begins. “So, we planned to adopt a government school and design toilet models, which consume lesser water. During the research on the topic, we came upon a community toilet in Musiri, near Trichy. When I travelled  there, I found that they also had a composite garbage segregation unit, and I was surprised that such a small town had a very sensible waste disposal technique,” she adds.

Over the next eight days, Vishnu Priya and her team documented a lot of information about sanitation and garbage disposal in the area, and decided to make it into a documentary film on water conservation, waste disposal and manual scavenging. Meel has been shot across Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Puducherry, Hyderabad, Chennai, Madurai, and Thanjavur. The team also plans to shoot in Ladakh and New Delhi.

Talking about the many important things she learnt, Vishnu Priya explains, “One of the most raw and shocking revelations I came across while making Meel, was the condition of sanitary workers. It was emotionally disturbing to see how the society treats them as outcasts. Even if we have to cross a dumping yard we become restless as we cannot bear the smell. But they practically live there. Also, to know that basic mistakes we do, like not segregating our waste before disposing it can lead to such drastic environmental damage, shook me completely.”

She goes on, “The startling fact was that, if we were to properly segregate domestic waste, there will practically be no garbage at all. We will be left with seven to eight types of things that cannot be recycled, which can be banned from use by the government. By doing this, we will become a country that produces zero waste! This is not something that the government is not aware of, but yes, politics and lobbying come into play here.”

“The ultimate aim of Meel is to educate the urban population about intelligent waste disposal and eco-san toilets which effectively change our environment that we mercilessly pollute. A change in our households will result in a change in the general outlook of the society towards the issue as well,” the architect says.
Meel, which has been shot in both English and Tamil, will be subtitled and released in August, and she hopes to screen it across the country.