Ganesha Chaturthi is just round the corner and instead of scouring the city or the internet for eco-friendly clay Ganeshas (there's no way you could possibly be thinking of using any other type), read through these details to find out where you can pick up one or better still - make one – with hardly any effort.  

Youth in the city seem to have taken a more proactive stance this year with regard to the Ganesha Chaturthi festival and its environmental impact. Two such groups -  To Make A Difference (TMAD) and Youth for Seva - are volunteering their time to minimise environmental damage during the festival by promoting eco-friendly practices. They emphasise the use of unpainted clay idols and nature-based dyes for painting the idols; proper disposal of idols and other material used during the festival.  

This year in Bangalore, Youth for Seva has partnered with Clay Station to help people make their own Ganesha…

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Last year, my son played Holi and his skin was tinted green and pink for days. Some of his friends broke out in rashes or got wheezing. So this time, my neighbours and I are quite keen on making Holi safer.

Quoting Krish Ashok, a blogger, Holi is a "spring festival where people throw coloured powders that symbolically contain Neem, Kumkum and Turmeric but really contain Lead Oxide, Copper Sulphate and Aluminium Bromide. Yet another fine example of the great Indian tradition of carrying forward the ritual meaning while leaving behind the rational significance of using real herbs to immunise people against the coming diseases of summer."

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The Ministry of Environment and Forests has notified the Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011. In Bengaluru, the ban will be in effect from today.

Banning thin plastic bags and charging consumers is only the first step. BBMP has announced plans to setup waste segregation and plastic collection centres in ward.

Some points covered by the centre's notification.
• Plastic carry bags shall either be white or only with those pigments and colourants which are in conformity with the bar prescribed by  the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
• Plastic carry bags shall not be less than 40 microns in thickness. Under the earlier Rules, the minimum thickness was 20 microns.
• No carry bags shall be made available free of cost  to consumers. The municipal authority may determine the minimum price for plastic carry bags.

BBMP's Siddaiah has reportedly said, they will seize all plastic bags that…

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Crisp white uniforms in school assemblies make a pretty picture. It’s a pain, keeping white dress white. But is the effort that mothers put in to keep it white worth it?

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Lakhs of students, millions of books, thousands of trees!

It’s that time of the year again. All parents are busy collecting books from schools and covering them in brown paper sheets. They are busy shopping for school supplies. New uniforms, new bags, new tiffin sets. Why? If last year’s set is in good shape, why buy again?

The schools expect every student to buy books from them, often at a marked-up price. They also make it compulsory to buy brown paper sheets, often plastic coated and notebook labels. What’s the use of covering notebooks? If the idea is to reduce wear and tear for a longer time, why not use just newspaper sheets or old calendar pages. When the cover frays, redo the cover again with fresh sheets. I hear the Valley school Bangalore follows this eco-friendly practice.

When I was in school, we used to be jealous…

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A little care on disposing your organic waste at home will go a long way in recycling the same to provide manure for your garden .

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Here I was merrily plucking tomatoes from my garden as and when i needed them in the kitchen, till S – our domestic help - told me that she had just bought it for 40 rupees a kilo in Russell Market?! FORTY?! I resolved to tend to my garden with greater care and gratitude!

'The garden' has always been integral to my growing years and it was only a matter of time before I started my own. So, ever since we moved to our place earlier this year, I experimented with various methods in the endeavour to make my garden as 'organic' as possible. It is another matter that a book I read recently about the Rodale Organic Farm (pioneers in organic farming) categorically states that growing plants in the restricted environment of a container cannot be considered truly organic. A trifle disappointing yes, but I would still like…

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In my search to find a method to recycle grey water from the washing machine, I chanced upon an exciting alternative to detergents: Soap Nut (Sapindus Mukorossi, locally called  Ritha or soap kai). Of course, it is not something new – our grandparents and parents have used it frequently to wash silks and expensive garments. However, in today's scenario, I think this little nut has a vital role to play. 

There are two ways to use the soapnuts for laundry. One is to crack the nuts, remove the seeds and place the halves in a small pouch or…

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It's been a month now and I still can't stop myself from rushing to the terrace in the morning, after a night of heavy rain.

After several months of seeking ways (unsuccessfully!) to harvest rainwater for our apartment, we had arrived at an elementary solution. Most local experts whose advice and opinion we sought were unable to help. Even the internet tips were of little use since they dealt with individual houses and/or entire apartment buildings.

Though our terrace is fairly large, we realised that the catchment area (the area which directly receives the rainfall and provides water to the harvesting system) is limited to the roof above the terrace room (approximately 120 sq ft). So after a lot of searching and researching, we decided to re-route the pipeline from this area to a rooftop storage tank.

Simple rainwater harvesting structure (pic:…

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Getting a dog many years back was the last straw that made our family stop buying crackers once and for all. The dog was a hyper-sensitive creature who stood trembling through out the days and nights of Diwali; Any sound of crackers was enough to get her tense and get her heart racing. She would not even eat for days. I have also heard of dogs that get excited and try to grab the crackers.

Dogs and other animals are many times more sensitive than ours. Once we get a pet, it is our responsibility to spare them the torture of crackers. What do you think? (There are also some people who are cruel enough to tie crackers to the tails of street dogs. If you see this happening, stop them, please!)

Beyond noise pollution, most of us know now the negative effects of crackers which emit corrosive oxides of…

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There is so much of disposable products in our lives. From plastic bags to diapers to pens (whatever happened to ballpoint refills - does nobody use those anymore?)

For a cup of tea in a clean glass

When I am outside and I feel like having some hot tea, I think twice before getting a cup. Most of our small tea shops or vending machines use plastic cups, occasionally paper cups (which do have a plastic coating).

I generally ask for a glass or steel tumblers. Even if they are available, the downside is the hygiene level of the tumblers. I console myself that the tea would be quite hot & so it is ok.

For the record, styrofoam though not buidegradable, is supposed to be a better option. Because it is not a very dense product, not too much of petroleum based raw material is used in making it. Production…

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