Building a house in Bangalore costs a walloping amount of cash. Doing the interiors costs a few or many lakhs too. Buying furniture and accessories leaves a big dent in one’s bank balance as well. Having a garden is a luxury most of us dream of. While we are willing to spend so much on beautifying our house, how many of us actually plan to invest a little bit in systematically and hygienically getting rid of our house waste?

Many people have never considered composting as an alternative waste management process. The widespread perception of waste management is something that the Government has to do. Composting is “not my job”.
Instead of going in for a Rs 250-plastic dustbin, that serves as a mere cover for our garbage only till the latter is dumped somewhere on the lane, imagine having an economical and eco-friendly alternative, that need not end up polluting the environment more so.

Daily Dump
Daily Dump,  a cost-effective, do-it-yourself kitchen-waste terracotta composter, is a brand of a company called Playnspeak, that helps you manage your household waste and convert it to useful high-quality compost. It supports you with flexible service plans to achieve your goal of becoming a green citizen. The Daily Dump products are designed to ensure that you compost at home, conveniently and hygienically.

 The brain behind the home composter is Poonam Bir Kasturi, Bangalore-based designer and educationist. A visit to her office cum house at Indira nagar, transports one to a land of terracotta pots of different shapes in rows. She has different names for them all. Mota Lota, Patta-Khamba, Leave-it Pot, Khamba, Gamla, are various modes by which you can convert your garbage into vital compost.

What’s more, Poonam even tries to collect garbage from neighbours to give it a more useful end. But, she says only one neighbour agrees along with HOPCOMS (Horticulture Produce Marketing and Processing Cooperative Society), to give their garbage.

Intrinsic research
“This project evolved without a project report. I see this project also as a culmination of the conversations I have had with many of my students and peers over the years and the varied ideas that have informed and excited me as a person. Ideas from systems theory, sustainable development, design methods, sacred geometries, craft development, Indira Darshinis (stand-up Indian fast food places), the open source movement, micro-enterprise, facilitative processes and design have   —all influenced the project.”

“Also terracotta, after my initial tests with materials - was the best material to support the decomposition process. Plastic failed miserably. That plastic fails miserably for storing and cooling water still does not prevent us from using plastic for storing water in our urban environments, “ rues Poonam.

Her research went on for two years. The will to make a difference to the environment was her driving force. She then decided to deploy her design skills to create a product that could deal with the problem of garbage ‘at source’. That is, a product that could help families manage their own household waste.

Finally, the fruit of a 3-year-old effort—Daily Dump, has caught on in Bangalore, with 500 terracotta pots being sold.