Paper paper everywhere
We are the IT guys, in some way or the other. We use blogs instead of diaries, we use emails instead of letters. But we go ahead and print, print, print.
At WordCamp Pune, we feel ashamed and embarassed to use paper like this. That’s why we’ve implemented the following ideas:
- No printing and no paper from the organisers except name badges, some banners and probably treasure hunt tickets for participants.
- Printed tickets will not be entertained and will be considered invalid. The ticket we mailed to you contains a QR code and an alphanumeric ticket code. You can present either of these at the registration counters. We’ve even given an option of saving the email as a PDF, just in case.
- We’ll have recycling stations where you can return all recyclable material including any pamphlets/ inserts that you may have received once you’re done with them.
Why not trash cans for recyclables? Because some things don’t need to go to a factory for recycling. For eg, pamphlets, again. We will return all pamphlets to the respective distributors so they may reuse them.
Disposing the disposables
Great developers write optimised efficient code. No spilling, no wastage. Great bloggers write taut, interesting pieces. No useless rambling, no wastage of words.
So, when we come together, why do we use and throw a plastic/ paper/ styrofoam cup every time we take a sip of water? This is like redeclaring a variable everytime you’re gonna use it or using a comma, randomly, like this, which is, in, our, view, pointless.
While this infographic is specifically about the US, it highlights a global problem. (Click to view the original version from Steelys Drinkware)
It’s high time we stopped the lip service and did something about it. At WordCamp Pune 2015, we solve this problem by
- Providing every attendee with a sipper bottle that they can refill every now and then from water dispensers placed all over the venue.
- Using washable glass/ ceramic for serving tea/ coffee.
अन्नम् परब्रह्मम् स्वरूपम्।।
(Translated from Sanskrit: Grain (food) is a form of the Supreme God.)
A large part of India is malnourished, sometimes by choice but mostly because they can’t afford food. Yet, we waste food like it was garbage. At WordCamp Pune 2015 we take food recycling seriously. We’ll have a Food Recycling Station that’ll recycle leftover food with dignity and send the unrecyclable items (partially-eaten bits, etc) for manure generation.
Packaging, Plastics and Bags, or
Bring your own bags
A lot of waste is generated from wrappers and packaging material that comes with the swag that is distributed at conferences. In addition, many conferences provide polythene bags or synthetic laptop bags that are low in quality and will hardly be used again.
We choose not to do either of those and shift a little more responsibility to you. We request you to get your bags along, to store and take home all the fantastic goodies that we have to offer.
We’ve also asked our vendors to not provide us with any packaging for individual items. We are okay with boxes that store multiple items. We’re hoping that a combination of these will solve our problems concerning plastic and other waste.
Translated from Hindi: Clean India Movement. One step towards cleanliness.
Your say
Do you think we’ve missed something? Maybe by adding an activity or process we could reduce the environmental impact of WordCamp Pune further. Let us know in the comments.
Photo Credit
Fresh Food In Garbage Can To Illustrate Waste by U.S. Department of Agriculture licensed under CC BY 2.0