Women of steel: Promoting environment conservation, come what may

Hyderabad: A small idea along with a ‘steely determination’ has turned into a big war against plastic in Siddipet municipality, which is now leading with example where the people in all the 43 wards have stopped using the single-use plastic items and going for steel utensils that are offered at 50 per cent less than the price of plastic items.

The women self-help groups with the help of voluntary organisation Bala Vikasa and Siddipet Municipality have started ‘Steel Banks’ in every ward in the municipality, which cater to the needs of the citizens. Former Minister T Harish Rao helped in getting the funding through corporate social responsibility initiative.

Plastic usage, especially single-use plastic has become a menace these days by their indiscriminate dumping and burning, causing increased levels of pollution.

The idea of having a steel bank came during the COVID period when a lot of people used disposables, which led to collection of huge quantities of plastic waste in civic vehicles. “During COVID, many were using the plastic disposables. We encouraged people to go for steel utensils instead of plastic. Initially, we gave it for free and later collected charges which were cheaper than the plastic items.

The Dwcra resource persons were provided with funding to have their own steel bank,” said Deepti Nagaraj, councillor in Siddipet Municipality.

The initiative was started in a few wards in the beginning and now it is being implemented in all the 43 wards of the municipality.

The civic authorities created awareness among the masses on the ill-effects of the usage of plastic and also imposed penalties on the residents, which led to people opting for the steel utensils. There is a strict rule in the municipality that the residents will have to segregate the dry and wet waste. If people do not follow this rule, the civic personnel throw the thrash in front of the houses. This had brought a big change in the thinking of the residents.

The utensils are maintained by the women who visit residents and explain to them the availability of the steel utensils. Deepthi Nagaraj said that each ward has utensils which can cater to a function of at least 1,000 people. There are items like glasses, plates, bowls (big and small), tiffin plates, etc. There will be nominal charges like 25 paisa for a tea cup, Re 1 for a plate. The women in the SHGs supply the items, collect the charges and run the business. The initiative has helped the ULB to reduce usage of 204 kg of plastic every month in the wards.

The total project costed Rs 102 lakh, including Rs 3 lakh per unit. The funds were given by Balavikas under CSR. The average income per month for all units is Rs 2.72 lakh.

The steel bank idea got all praise in the Economic Survey presented by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. This initiative of the municipality has generated huge interest and is being implemented in other local bodies in the country.