The Turning Tide: A green initiative helping Mumbai deal with its massive garbage woes

This October, the soaring temperatures are quite unbearable. Most of us travel to work, school or college in the heat of the sun, with many experiencing heat strokes and the like. However, it is us who are to be blamed for the rising temperatures, because as Mumbaikars, we have seldom bothered about the city’s green cover.

Even so, this urban jungle does have a number of environmental crusaders who are concerned about the green cover and are making an effort to increase it. Enter The Turning Tide—only three months into the business and the organisation has already done massive work worth noticing.

Starting at the grassroots level
George Remedios, the founder of The Turning Tide along with his partner Calvin Andrade, both residents of Kalina, have joined forces to bring positive change. “We usually work through Facebook, where we educate people about items that can be recycled, since scrap dealers make it really heard for people to recycle efficiently,” says Remedios.

Recycling For A Good Cause, the term given by the duo for their green initiatives involves collecting recyclables, which are then sold in order to fund other activities. “Planting saplings, setting up compost bins, building bird boxes and most recently, conducting clean-ups are just some of the things we've tapped into,” says the duo.

What they do
With their focus in Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra, Khar and Santacruz, it took the duo almost a year to actually get something done. “The reason we started doing this is because there has been a 10-degree rise in summer temperatures and it has become unbearable to live without air-conditioning. We also realised the significance of recycling and not letting things like plastics get into landfills and water systems,” explains Remedios. 

What is remarkable about The Turning Tide is that within its first trimester, it achieved quite a lot, without the help of any other established organisation. “I think one of the most memorable things we've done is a fruit orchard, behind the Sacred Hearts School building, which is still in the making as the trees have to grow. What used to be just an open yard is now full of fruit saplings,” Remedios says, proudly.

Another project Remedios and his partner are working on is an operation funded only by the sale of recyclables that they have collected. “We've been able to plant a total of 66 tree saplings with a 100 per cent survival rate. Our dream is to reach 100 trees by Christmas and we're pretty sure it will be fulfilled,” says the duo. 

Lack of cooperation
However, a pitfall cited by Remedios in achieving their dream is that a lot of people are hesitant to help wholeheartedly in initiatives concerning environment conservation. Another challenge—a massive one—they've faced is the number of commercial housing centres coming up in the city. “All new building constructions have compounds that are completely cemented, hence there is no place to plant trees, since not enough water seeps through the concrete and into the soil,” Remedios says.

What the future holds
In the next ten years, The Turning Tide aims to become a registered NGO, making a valuable impact on the environment in the city. While they claim to be problem solvers rather than activists, their primary aim will always be to restore the green cover in the commercial capital. The want to do this through waste management, tackling the problem of dwindling mangroves and hopefully bolstering the local bird population.

WHAT CAN BE RECYCLED:
Paper: Newspapers, old books and magazines
Plastic: Bottles, cosmetic, medical and nutrition supplements
Cardboard: Corrugated and cardboard boxes
Metal: Beverage cans, food tins and containers
Glass: Bottles and jars