Whether it is toxic effluent from factories flowing into neighboring rivers, tons of trash dumped illegally and then igniting to release toxic fumes, or human waste deposited along the streets of cities or towns – waste is a daunting challenge facing today's India. Fortunately there is hope, springing up like wildflowers in small instances throughout the country.

 

Auroville's efforts in waste management, including its prevention and treatment, contribute in part to these solutions. When the town was founded over forty years ago, it was situated in a rural landscape, which was extremely eroded in many areas. As such, Auroville's first steps in finding solutions for waste began with infrastructure. One solution was the creation and implementation of Decentralized Waste Water Treatment Systems (DeWATS) for waste water, and the installation of composting toilets in various communities and households.

 

In time, more efforts toward treatment of waste (in all of its forms) have sprung up. Some Auroville researchers have explored the link between health and hygiene and the environment, using EM (Effective Microorganisms) in the treatment of sewage and dump sites. Still others have taken up the issue of how to properly and safely manage the solid waste of the community, examining concepts of zero-waste, the 5 R's (reduce-reuse-recycle-reprocess-recapture), and launching massive clean-up campaigns involving all of the Auroville schools.

 

But Auroville's work on waste doesn't stop at its boundaries. In addition to numerous educational campaigns for surrounding villages, Aurovilians work with others not only to share and exchange information, but also to jointly work on solutions, to run programs for implementation, and more. Waste experts have visited Auroville and collaborated on numerous projects. In this way, Auroville's experiments on waste are informed by the latest science and technologies in the field.

 

Though the scale may be small, the experiments in handling waste resources are dynamic. It is our hope that the ongoing work in waste management at Auroville contributes to the solutions for waste in India and the global community.