The Rest Is All Garbage, Really…

by Savita Hiremath

Three bins stacked up near each other.
Three bins on display

Sometime ago, I took out my composting kit and restarted the whole process. These are the thoughts that crossed my mind. Couldn’t help sharing…

Leave aside all the talk about ‘save the environment’, ‘save the city’, etc. That does not seem to interest the majority.

Let’s look at it this way: Life throws a lot of garbage at us each day. With a little effort, we can segregate all of that into three categories just as we segregate our everyday household garbage:

  1. BIN 1, Green: Useful thoughts/feelings/memories go into the green bin which need to be composted and reused for nourishing the mind and the soul and the whole being.
  2. BIN 2, Blue/Grey/White: Whatever is useless now but something that can be processed and used later can go into the second, recyclable bin. Because, of course, we can handle only a certain amount garbage in a day.
  3. BIN 3, Red: Lastly, whatever thoughts/memories that we must get rid of should go into the red bin which must be sent for incineration. Stat!

There you go! Entire life’s philosophy tucked into this Three Bin Theory. 

If you are still skeptical about how SWM can offer you endless philosophical insights into life, here’s one more: Of all the garbage that life throws at you, this is the only one that you can turn into something priceless. Because there is no other algorithm that produces fragrance as an end result. Only composting does.

The rest is all garbage, really.

Savita Hiremath is a Bangalore resident, who is a core and proud member of the Solid Waste Management Round Table in Bangalore. This piece can be found on her website Endlessly Green.