TATR introduces the 'Zero Waste Tadoba' project

25 Jul 2022 CW Team

The Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) has initiated the ‘Zero Waste Tadoba’ initiative, which will be conducted in collaboration with Mohurli gram panchayat, Chandrapur Zilla parishad, and two NGO partners.

Tadoba attracts at least two million visitors each season, and when combined with the local population, a huge amount of waste is generated, which not only has a negative impact on the environment, animals, and public health but is also a nuisance for both tourists and residents. Visitors to TATR generate an average of 13 liters of disposable water bottles as garbage.

“In a bid to tackle the problem, the project has started from Mohurli and will cover all the 89 villages in the buffer zone of Tadoba in phases,” said Dr Jitendra S Ramgaokar, conservator of forests and field director, TATR.

According to the regulation, all resorts, hotels, and homestays must segregate waste at the source into three bins and ensure segregation by tourists and staff. There are three bins: one for compostable organic garbage, one for recyclable garbage, and one for non-recyclable hazardous waste. Resorts and hotels have been ordered to place such bins in every room, kitchen, store, office, and staff quarters, as well as all public and communal areas.

Sunita katkar, Sarpanch of Mohurli says, “the bins have been provided by TATR foundation and we have districbuted them to the residents in the presence of RFO Santosh Thipe.

Most of the residents collect garbage in the bins. Soon you will see a change. We have also demanded a piece of revenue land to dump garbage systematically.”

According to TATR officials, all resorts, motels, and homestays are required to compost their organic waste on site. Composting trenches or composter barrels have also been recommended based on the amount of organic waste generated. My Ecosocial Planet Foundation, a TATR NGO partner, will provide technical assistance in establishing a composting system.

The resorts will give over blue and red bin rubbish to Safai Sathis, who will visit the resorts three times a week to collect dry recyclable and hazardous materials and transport them to the TATR's resource recovery center in Mohurli.

With these efforts, the aim is to bring over 85 per cent of waste into composting and recycling, with less than 15 per cent going into landfilling or incineration. "We have recommended resorts to explore the Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, and lastly, Recycle approach to curb waste," says Ramgaonkar.

The resorts' owners welcomed the TATR decision, saying, “At present, there is no system to dispose of waste. In Kolara, the gram panchayat collects thousands of rupees towards tax from resort owners but doesn’t collect garbage. There should also be a complete ban on open defecation in the village. "