He is just an ordinary resident of North Delhi’s bustling colony in Narela. But, he leads a life that is extraordinary. Bhim Rawat, 32- years- old has been leading a totally plastic-free life for the last 15 years. Living in a small house, he has not used even a single item made of plastic. His life has become an inspiration for many people who realised the toxic effect of plastic.
Rawat has been using purely organic things such as using neem twigs as his tooth brush. Over the years, he has transformed his life in a way that everything in his house is eco-friendly. The cutlery, curtains, chair or even a paint brush-everything is made of eco-friendly substance. He devised alternative options for everything plastic to become eco-friendly.
The Idea
He was a teacher and got inspired to go completely organic while teaching his students about it. “Now it’s nearly 15 years that I have completely stopped using plastic. This has made my life comfortable, controlled the expenses and I am happy to maintain this life,” Rawat said. This was not an easy task to implement; he had to transform entire routine of his life.
He works with an NGO in Delhi. Learning about the nature and climate he found plastic as the biggest reason for destruction. Bhim Rawat said initially it was tough to choose alternative of each and every plastic item, but now it’s no longer a challenge. “When I first started working for the environment, I researched a lot and found that we are the ones destroying our home and killing wildlife.
I realised that our lives can go on perfectly without plastic. So why not do so?” He has a water harvesting pit at home. But convincing his family about his new lifestyle and new choices was not easy, he says. Every time a member brought home plastic products, Rawat used to throw a tantrum and would refuse to eat. Finally, his family gave in and joined him.
Rawat works with an NGO in Shalimar Bagh, he believes eco-friendly life is pocket-friendly as well. Looking around into his house one can see from powdered rock salt, stainless steel buckets and mugs to cloth bags, bamboo cups and rugs made from old gunny bags; he has an eco-friendly alternative for all the plastic things.
Challenge
“I have seen people fighting over parking space, dusty air and garbage at their door steps. Almost everyone is aware about dreadful effects of plastic still they don’t care to reduce its use. Even a large portion of educated strata of our society is not ready to change their lifestyle,” said Rawat. Adapting a new habit in your life teaches you several lessons.
How he learned about eco-friendly products he said, “I have not changed my lifestyle overnight, it was a gradual process that led me to this where I am today. I have researched a lot, met several people and learned disadvantages of plastic and benefits of other products.”
Message for readers
There are some alternatives that one must try at home. Use old cloths to convert them into bags for daily use. In Delhi one can get a stitched denim bag. A roadside tailor can do this job for you; you just need to approach him with old denim. “Plastic bags mostly come from unplanned shopping its better if you keep one cloth bag in your kit or bag.”
