How a ₹20 Solution Is Reshaping Delhi's Plastic Problem

As a child, my life was a canvas of simplicity. Growing up in an average middle-class family, my father's journey from service class to business class taught me important life lessons of hard work and determination. Those were the days when needs were minimal and joy could be found in the smallest of things. My fondest memories involve accompanying my mother to the vegetable market, a daily ritual that seems a world away from the fast-paced, technology-driven childhood my own children experience today. Little did I know that these cherished memories would fuel my passion for a cause close to my heart, which is combating plastic pollution. As a doctor deeply entrenched in the health sector, I witnessed the devastating consequences of plastic use on human health every single day. Communicable and non-communicable diseases, including cancer, have become alarmingly common now than when I was a young girl. The concern here was single-use plastic being heavily involved in our day-to-day lives.

It all started in 2017 when the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) visited our Navjeevan Vihar colony to spread awareness about waste management. That was an eye-opener for me, and I realized the issue is severe but can be managed by a few simple actions on an individual level. That was when my journey towards sustainability began, and I joined the Navjeevan Vihar Resident Welfare Association as a Secretary

We started implementing techniques for waste management to deal with all waste in a sustainable manner independently. Wet waste and garden scraps were turned into compost, plastic waste was segregated and sent for recycling, pre-loved clothes were donated instead of discarded, water waste was treated, and we eventually built nine rainwater harvesting systems around the colony.

Things were changing at a good pace, and I was slowly getting more involved with finding solutions for building better systems every day. Today, the Navjeevan Vihar colony produces 10,000 kg of compost every year from wet waste and has diverted 600,000 kg of waste from landfill sites, becoming the first zero-waste colony in Delhi. The turning point came when I was appointed as a City-Level Task Force member for plastic waste management by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). This was the beginning of a chain reaction of impact called Vikalp Stores that extended to the rest of Delhi.

The Vikalp Stores and Why Waste Wednesdays Foundation

As a city-level task force member, I was responsible for keeping tabs on all developments in our actions toward waste management. We took up a project to determine the cause of the huge amount of plastic bags and found ourselves in Mehrauli Mandi, one of the busiest markets in Delhi. On the streets, where you can find everything ranging from vegetables to furniture, we were engaging with the public and shopkeepers, unraveling the roots of the plastic menace. We noticed that most people don’t carry bags with themselves, hence the higher use of plastic bags. For the next 40 days, we talked to multiple customers and shopkeepers to understand the root problem. It soon became clear that the challenge lay in changing mindsets, both for consumers and shopkeepers. People blamed everyone but themselves for the plastic problem. Consumers refused to carry a bag, and if shopkeepers denied one, they would lose business. After much back and forth, the idea of Vikalp, an alternative to single-use plastic, was born.

The journey started with a humble cloth bag counter in the market, led by women's self-help groups who stitched and sold durable cloth bags. However, we quickly realized that merely selling bags wasn't sustainable. So, we decided to give them the option to get a bag for 20 rupees, use it for the day, and return it at any point in time, and refund their 20 rupees. This was a well-received idea among the customers and became an instant hit. We had 10 stores in the first week, and it only kept growing ahead of that. I soon decided to take this up as an independent venture, and hence the Why Waste Wednesdays Foundation was born in 2021. We started creating bags with a QR code that would redirect users to the website listing all the Vikalp stores, so you can return the bag to any of these stores, regardless of where you picked it up from. Today, we have around 750 Vikalp stores around Delhi and have over 100,000 bags in circulation. The Vikalp Project, partnered with the Earth Day Network India and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), has now become the flagship campaign of the Why Waste Wednesdays Foundation.

Our approach has always been to identify the root causes, involve the community, and make interventions that are practical and pocket-friendly. Balancing my career as an ophthalmologist with my commitment to environmental causes was initially challenging. After a long and satisfying career in the health sector, I finally decided to take up environmental initiatives full-time. The success of Vikalp inspired us to expand our initiatives, from collaborating with the MCD to replicate zero-waste models in colonies to engaging schools and colleges in painting reusable bags. We even launched a stationery donation campaign for government schools, reinforcing the link between environmental responsibility and community welfare.

As I gaze into the future, I see a journey that defies rigid goals. It's about delving deep into every facet and creating models that stand the test of time and are easily replicable. My focus is on quality impact, making every intervention count. While specific goals exist, the emphasis is on a journey that flows with the rhythm of the present, tackling hurdles as they come. We always encourage people to support Vikalp through volunteering in ongoing campaigns, donating or sponsoring, and actively participating in the cause. The message echoes clearly – every small action matters and it's the collective efforts of individuals to usher in a future where our dependence on the Earth is reciprocal, not one-sided.

Exclusively written for Giving for Good Foundation by Bhairavi Hiremath