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There were basically a few easy things people could do. If we could convince them, we would reduce the
trash by half!
We spent hours talking and arguing with fast food restaurants, in offices, with the mayor, but finally we got
the permission to put those signs in every public area.
Some places also promised to reduce their 'disposables' by half!
It was much harder to convince my mother to use washable cloth diapers for my younger sister! But she
finally complied!
Most of the kids tried hard to explain to their parents a new way of shopping. Some even did it themselves
so their parents would not have to worry about these issues. At least, it was a beginning! Parents would
come around seeing our enthusiasm and its usefulness.
Sidi, my older sister decided to take things in hand. She invited women of the neighborhood to
come with her shopping. While they stayed together and had a great time, Sidi explained what choices they
could make for a better and friendlier environment. She asked the women what they used to buy, and why,
and pointed out that they should buy objects they could use and use again. She stressed on the quality and
the pleasure going with the purchase of products of quality.
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She made them remark that a mega refill or family size product used fewer wrappings, consequently they
were reducing their wastes and it cost them less money.
She make them understand that not only they spent less money buying a king size, but their trash would be
reduced, reducing the overall cost of getting rid of the trash by the community.
She asked them to look for products showing recyclable on its label. While paying, she would take a tote
bag she had with her. She would encourage the women to design their own shopping bags. She would
particularly stress the fact that plastic bags were hard to recycle and paper bags came from trees. She
would ask them to:
Our local teacher was soon involved in the activities. Since he was very handy, he would show fathers and
some of the children how to fix furniture and mecanical objects:
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