This is the Green Trails Report by Indiahikes for October 2023. It is an internal report written by Sharwari Brahme, the head of Green Trails at Indiahikes. It has been published without edits.

1.  As winter is almost here, let us bring back our 'One Bucket Challenge.' This week onwards, all the slopes start the challenge from the base camp to the last campsite. I am also sharing the link to the document for all the instructions and steps to implement it.

2. We experimented with the compostable packages we had procured from 'Go Do Good'. The experiment was done to see if our premix items could be put in the bags. Manish Sir tested it in the Dehradun office. The compostable bags need to be stronger in order to withhold the weight. We have given the feedback to 'Go Do Good', and we'll see if it can go through more iterations. In the meantime, we will keep looking for other organizations for sustainable packaging.

There have been more than 12 clean-ups we have had in October across all slopes. With every slope member participating, the culture of regular green sweeps is becoming more consistent. Let us target more green sweeps in November and December, especially on the trail. This is also helping the entire team come together really well.

1. Satvik, who was working with us as one of our interns, finished his internship in October. He spent two months on the slopes and has worked well. He hopes to trek with us soon.

2. Ankit, who was also working as an intern, has finished his internship. He has taken Green Trails Vision forward in the last three months. He wants to continue his journey of working towards making trekking a sustainable sport for all. He will be joining as a full-time member at Indiahikes on 20th November 2023. He will work as a GT coordinator.

3. Soham, who joined recently as a GT intern, has finished his orientation in Bengaluru. He will be reporting to the slopes on the 7th of November 2023. to start his work from Sari.

In the last week of October, Ravi Sir conducted a training for all the store incharges and trek coordinators on equipment, focusing on set-up, maintenance, and wind-up. This was done with safety and sustainability at the core. The training also focused on our Golden Six practices set at our base camp and campsites. There were a lot of learnings for the entire staff. The staff picked up on the new process. 

Here are the observations that came from Ravi Sir's side: the staff team wasn't completely aware of what our G6 practices are; they knew how a campsite is set, but what comes under G6 practices and protocols they weren't aware of. This training has helped them get familiar with G6 processes.

Congratulations to all of you. Everyone has done an amazing job bringing out the right spirit of trekking with all your groups. All of you have helped trekkers take sustainability back to their cities. All of you have also left the mountains visibly cleaner for all our future trekkers.

1. Since June, there has been a significant change in everyone's sustainability journeys. All the Trek leaders are taking up the SCP challenges and completing them successfully. This is helping all of them have engaging conversations with their teams as well as their trekkers. I have also noticed a lot of peer-to-peer learning and sharing of resources and ideas to bring in more sustainability conversations.

2. In October, the personal SCP challenges people were taking up were drastically reduced. I see that out of the entire TL team, only 2-3% of teammates are taking up monthly challenges. It was very sad to see this. Let us change for November and see to it that all of you start the SCP challenges by this week itself.

3. The drop-off boxes at all our basecamps for wet wipes and strong communication in the briefing have brought it to nearly 0 for trekkers not bringing wet wipes. All the teams did a good job.

Three weeks ago, Sudhanshu shared a message on the office WhatsApp group. The photo was of wet wipes being dug out of our older toilet pits from the Deoriatal Chandrshila trek. It was very disheartening to see this. Things like these defeat our purpose of having composting toilets, leaving a low impact on the mountains. Learning from these incidents we have taken a few strong steps and also conducted a live experiment at Sari to see the decomposition of a wet wipe versus a toilet paper.

The teams have pushed hard to achieve their waste targets in September and October. All the slopes have done really well in an attempt to achieve their targets. I want to especially mention Raithal Slope, who achieved the waste target before the end of October. Well done,  Raithal Team.

Here we are moving again from the autumn season to the winter season. Going forward, the visible litter would be comparatively less. So I'm considering the targets.


The targets for November and December are as follows: 
Raithal: 100 kgs
Sari: 200kgs
Kotgaon: 150kgs
Lohajung: 200kgs
Karchi: 200kgs
Sandakphu: 150kgs

All the best to all of you for the winter! Let's leave our mountains better than we found them:)

Indiahikes Green Trails Report - October 2023

A group of school students from Delhi Public School (Bangalore, North), recently came together on their trek to clean up a mountain as part of the "Green Trails" initiative started by Indiahikes. 

The initiative aims to leave the mountains in better condition than they were found.

The students were inspired to take action after watching the Green Trails skit which was performed by our team. They were made to think deeply about the problem that was presented in the skit and come up with solutions. 

The skit showed the importance of how reckless consumption leads to an increase in plastic waste and pollution. After the skit, students were encouraged and made a personal pledge to bring out a positive change when they returned home.

Students picking up trash during their trek. Photo by Sharwari Brahme. 

“The students were quick learners and immediately felt a connection to nature. Together as a team, they collected a large amount of waste from the mountain, even picking up hazardous materials and carrying them in their eco-bags with our support.” shares Sharwari Brahme who was leading the team. 

“When they reached the summit, they found additional waste hidden behind boulders, which they promptly picked up and carried back down the mountain. Their initiative was instinctual and came to them very naturally!” adds Sharwari. 

In total, the students collected nearly 18.16 kgs of waste from the Harihara Betta trek! We are extremely happy to see the transformed perspectives in the young minds and the efforts they made to protect and preserve nature. 

Students during the trek with bags of collected trash. Photo by Sharwari Brahme. 

We hope that this experience will inspire the students to continue making sustainable choices in their everyday lives! 

DPS Bangalore North students take the lead in waste management by cleaning up 18.16 kg of waste from the Harihara Betta Trek, setting an example for environmental conservation.

DPS Bangalore - North Students Take the Lead & Cleaned Up 18.16 kg of waste from the Harihara Betta Trek! 

DPS Bangalore, North students, waste cleanup, Harihara Betta Trek

Our team of trekkers on the Brahmatal Trek in December collected an alarming 29.88 kgs of waste in just 20 minutes. Trek Leader Amit, who was leading the group, was shocked to find such a large amount of waste in a place known for its natural beauty.

Amit says, “During the briefing, I suggested to my team members that since we had successfully completed the trek and had a smooth experience, with no safety or climate issues, the least we could do was clean up as much waste as possible. We need to give back to the mountains that gave us such a wonderful experience.”

Before and after: A littered area at the Brahmatal camp site before the cleanup effort by the trekkers! 

Inspired by Amit’s reasoning, the team came together and got into action immediately. In such a short amount of time, they were able to remove almost 30 kgs of waste, making the area much cleaner and returning it to its original state.

As trekking enthusiasts, let’s together make an effort to leave the mountains better than we found them!

The aftermath: A cleaner and pristine Brahmatal camp site after the trekkers' efforts!

What practices do you follow to leave the mountains in a better condition than you find them? Tell us in the comments! 

Experience the beauty of Brahmatal trek while making a positive impact on the environment. Trekkers follow the Green Trails initiative and help us clear 29.88 kgs of polluting waste in just 20 minutes. Our sustainable trek will take you through the stunning Himalayas while promoting conservation and sustainable tourism. Book your Brahmatal trek now and be a part of the change

Trekkers Clear 29.88 kgs of Polluting Waste from Brahmatal Trek in Just 20 Minutes!

Brahmatal trek, Pollution, Waste, Clean-up, Trekkers, Eco-friendly, Pollution control, Garbage collection, Himalayas, Sustainable Trekking, Green Trails, Conservation

Have you ever wondered what happens to your poop when you go trekking in the mountains? I’m sure that’s the last question to pop in your mind while planning a trek, but we at Indiahikes have given it some serious thought. Serious enough to write a blog piece on it. 

After countless experiments on our varied expeditions in the hills, we think we’ve finally figured out the most effective and sustainable solution to handling poop at high altitudes. If I were to give it to you in one word – it’s Composting. 

Yes, the same old concept you first read about in your science textbooks in middle school. But don’t worry, this one has nothing to do with earthworms 🙂 In fact, by the end of this article, you’ll have developed enough understanding as to how to provide the right conditions for composting. And I’ll also sneak in a few tips to speed up the process for you. So without further ado let’s get to business. 

➤ How Exactly is Composting Carried Out?

 To compost poop, all you really need is a hole in the ground. If you’re trekking alone or with a couple of friends, carry a shovel. Use it to dig a pit about 1 foot deep, then squat over and do your business. Once you’re done, use the same mud you pulled out to cover the hole. 

This technique is called the cat pit system and is simple enough when trekking with little to no company. 

When moving in a large group, however, of let’s say 15-20 people, you can’t go around asking everyone to dig their own holes each day. You require a bigger and more efficient system. This is where we at Indiahikes use the dry composting toilet pit. It’s basically a deeper version of the cat pit system in the sense that it often covers a depth of 4 feet or more. 

The compost pit is where the magic happens. The entire process of decomposition is carried out by microbes – microscopic organisms naturally present in the soil – which help break down the organic matter of the poop. 

And like any other living organism on our planet, they require their own set of suitable conditions which help them thrive. 

➤ 4 Things Absolutely Critical for the Microbes to Survive:

Our tiny friends require a balanced diet that’s rich in both nitrogen and carbon, ideally in the ratio of 1:2 respectively. While nitrogen is sufficiently present in your poop to help the microbes kickstart the composting, carbon on the other hand needs to come from an external source. 

At Indiahikes, we usually prefer carrying sacks of mud or cocopeat/sawdust (both rich sources of carbon) on our treks which we place near our compost pit for trekkers to use while finishing up. One other essential source of carbon you can add further is the soiled toilet papers you’d have used, which you can add in the pit along with the cocopeat. 

Please be mindful that the toilet paper you bring along on the trek isn’t bleached or laden with any chemicals as this’ll kill the microbes. That’s the reason why we also strongly discourage bringing wet wipes along on our treks. 

Your body ensures that the microbes get enough water to play their part in the composting process. This is where your poop and pee come in handy in keeping the compost system hydrated. It’s also the reason why this entire method is called the “DRY” compost pit as you don’t need any extra water from outside. 

Microbes require oxygen to perform the aerobic decomposition of matter. Having a pit in the ground allows for natural aeration and enables the pit to ‘breathe’ well. 

The final thing that these organisms need is shelter, in particular, the right temperature to do their work. This is a hard task as you’re in the mountains, but you are helped to some extent by the fact that the temperatures underground are warmer than land. Besides, make sure to keep the pit in a location that gets direct sunlight during the day.  This provides the microbes with an ambient temperature to carry on the process. 

➤ What Happens to the Compost Pit after Your Trek?

If you follow our instructions and tips mentioned above to the letter, it’ll take about 6 to 8 months for your poop to completely decompose into organic manure. This inspired us at Indiahikes to actually go back to our same spots once our trek season is finished, after about 8 months to check on the toilet pits. You can therefore take our word when we say that these dry compost pits are a great way of converting poop into nitrogen-rich manure. 

To know more about the process, or if you have any queries regarding it, feel free to write to me at neha@indiahikes.com or drop in a comment below. If you found this piece insightful, do remember to share it with your fellow trekkers. 

What Happens to your Poop in the Mountains

Trekking during periods is not a bad idea, if you know how to manage your waste properly.

Sanitary waste is largely non-biodegradable, and poses a serious threat to the mountain environment. We’ve noticed that many people are not aware of the harmful impact of disposing single-use sanitary products in the mountains.

In this article, we show you how to handle your sanitary waste on a trek.

Why you should not dispose of sanitary waste in the mountains

While on a trek, if you use single-use sanitary products like pads or tampons, the best thing to do is bring them back down to the cities for disposal. Leaving them in the mountains is detrimental to the delicate balance of the ecosystem. Here’s why.

1. Sanitary waste takes longer to decompose in mountains

Single-use sanitary products are harmful to the environment. In the cities, these go to the landfill where they stay for about 500 to 800 years before they finally decompose. In the mountains, this decomposition process is even slower becasue of lower temperature.

Though there are biodegradable sanitary pads as well, the cotton used for these pads are bleached and processed extensively. They require 1-2 years to decompose in the cities where the temperature is favorable. So, even if your sanitary product is biodegradable, it’s harming the mountain environment.

Since these pads and tampons have blood remains, they attract wild animals. They dig up the litter from pits, even if you have buried them. This causes open littering and an unhygienic environment.

Streams in the mountains flow to settlements downstream. So if you are littering in the open, it can reach these water sources by way of the wind, or perhaps animals. This will pollute the water resources of the villagers.

Considering these issues, we insist that our trekkers bring down their sanitary waste to cities where it can be disposed of properly.

If you are someone who uses sanitary napkins or tampons, you need to follow this procedure to bring your waste back down from the mountains. Follow these steps below:

1. Carry these three things in your backpack

Cut newspaper into pieces of required size. You can use these to wrap your pads or tampons. Cutting them into strips beforehand will be easier to use while on your trek, as opposed to carrying full newspapers. The strips will be handy and occupy less space in your backpack.

These are to pack your waste. Ziplock bags are better than any other regular bags as they are airtight. This traps the smell of your used products.

The size of your ziplock can vary as per your requirement. If you are someone whose flow during periods is heavy, you might need a bag that is big in size.

Make sure that you carry one big pouch to store all the ziplock bags or undergarments.

You can choose a size based on your needs. If you are someone who changes undergarments every time you change napkins, you might require a bigger pouch. It also depends on how many pads you will be using during the entire trek.

It will be great if your pouch is washable and lightweight , something like a cloth bag with a zip. It can be used again after cleaning once you are back to the city. Keep the weight of the pouch as small as possible to avoid cluttering your backpack.

Once you reach your campsite, you can change napkins in the toilet tent.

After use, wrap your napkin in a strip of paper. Roll the pad tightly.

Pack the wrapped napkin or tampon in a ziplock bag. Make sure you have enough space in your zip lock bag to adjust all the pads you are going to use on the entire trek.

Take the used napkins back to the city for proper disposal. Leaving even a single pad or tampon in the mountains is not good for its ecosystem.

We highly recommend switching to menstrual cups all year-round. They are very eco-friendly and comfortable to use once you get used to it.

Using menstrual cups while trekking has many advantages too. You can use the cup for straight 8-10 hrs. And you have less chance of getting rashes or infections too.

I suggest you read this article for more insight about menstrual cups while trekking.

We at Indiahikes, have switched to the menstrual cup for good. It’s a great way to avoid inorganic waste. We hope for a day when everyone who goes to the mountains switches to the cup for the sake of preserving nature.

Till then, remember to manage your sanitary waste and bring it back to the cities for easy disposal.

I’m eager to listen to your thoughts and suggestions on this topic. If you follow any other method in managing your sanitary waste, do drop in your comments below!

Though trekking during your periods is not a bad idea at all, you should know how to manage your sanitary waste properly. Here are some tips you can follow.

How To Manage Sanitary Waste On A Trek

The end of a season for a trek includes a host of things. Winding up campsites, bringing down equipment, getting updates from slope managers, tallying accounts. Most importantly, end of season means aggregation and segregation of waste.

After some intense segregation sessions, we have managed to segregate and safely dispose 1,807.1 grams of aggregated waste this Roopkund trek season! This is not including the waste we upcycled.

Waste was collected from our trekking trails, campsites, villages and the Lohajung market. Apart from upcycling, we sent recyclables to the kabadiwala. Thus, we reduced the amount of landfill waste.

The waste that was not used was sent to Waste Warriors for further segregation and use in road-making. Out of 1,807 kilograms of waste we sent down, 17 kilograms of hard plastic waste was sent in for recycling.

Parallely, things have been picking up marvelously at the village. At the Lohajung market, waste management is turning into a full fledged system. Locals are more conscious of how they dispose their waste.  

The Green Trails station at the Roopkund base camp has undergone a lot of transformation. It is our work space, where we turn ideas into reality and put learnings to action. So it is not surprising that we ensure it is as comfortable as possible. 

When I first visited Roopkund, it was a modest, functional space where we upcycled waste. Our team just me sent photos of the station and it makes me want to go back! The best part?

The upcycled items are what make it cozy. Be sure to visit our Green Trails station if you go for the Roopkund or Brahmatal treks. 

Let us know if you have a green idea which we could employ in the mountains. We would love to hear from you in the comments section below. Click the picture below to follow us on Instagram for further updates!

1. If you want to work as a Green Trails Fellow: Read this article to learn more about it.

2. If you want to work with us: Head over to our careers page. We have lots of positions open. We also have lots of applications coming in. So the sooner you apply, the better.

3. If you ended up here by chance and were actually looking for treks to do: Then head over to our upcoming treks page. You’ll find all our Himalayan treks there.

4. If you want to see the 13 best treks of India: Then get our guide here.

Trekkers And Villagers Come Together To Bring Down 1,807 Kgs From Roopkund

It is very gratifying when we see our sustained efforts to engage with people pay off. This is evident in Lohajung, our base camp for the Roopkund & Brahmatal treks. Last week we saw active participation from the local villagers and our trekkers.

The first step of upcycling is to segregate your waste properly.

Our Green Trails intern Krish went on the Roopkund trek up till Pathar Nachauni to support dhabawalas in segregating their waste and composting their organic waste.

Dhabhawalas set up their stall during the trekking season to cater to the trekkers on the trail. They sell biscuits, Maggi and other snacks. However, little thought is given to the waste generated and its management.

On that note, we noticed that waste segregation down at the base camp village was going a little haywire. There was wet and dry waste mixed up in the dustbins we had installed around the village market. 

So we got the folks at the Lohajung Market to pull up their socks.

While we are happy to help put the system in place, it is important that locals continue to sustain it. Our Green Trails team aims to enable this through reiteration of safe waste management practices.

With eco-pillows, no more plastic everywhere

We had 2 pillow making workshops at Kurali village last week. This was very well received by the women participants who sat together with our team to make these eco-pillows. 

We are teaching the women how to wash the plastic clean, dry and cut it. The addition of plastic along with cut cloth is yet another exit for the plastic waste generated.

We are also getting our trekkers to customise the eco-pillows they would like to buy. Give them funky eco-pillows, get some fabric paint – and you have happy painter trekkers.

It is not just pillows, trekkers are always curious about our Green Trails station.

We are constantly working to make the Green Trails station cozier with new bottle brick stools and eco-pillows; and some rearranging to accommodate the growing number of upcycling activities!

Last week our Green Trails fellows made a bottle brick shelf to store the upcycled products.

125 Kgs Of Waste Segregated As Trekkers And Locals Come Together At Roopkund Base Camp- Lohajung

1330 kg waste collected from the Sandakphu trail and segregated

Our Green Trails team from Sandakphu trek sent us some very impressive waste management statistics last week.

The team stationed in Jaubhari, works on waste management and upcycling activities with trekkers and villagers.

After the Sandakphu trek season, our Green Trails teams have been relentlessly cleaning the villages in and around Jaubhari.

The waste collected is meticulously segregated into recyclables and non-recyclables by our team members.

We always segregate the recyclables further to transport ones that the kabadiwalla will take.

You know how bottle bricks and eco-pillows are the rage everywhere. So our team kept soft plastic waste aside for use in  the upcycling projects.

The rest of the recyclables largely comprised of plastic waste and glass bottles.

Most of the reusable plastic bottles were made into bottle brick stools.

The rest were taken to the nearest recycling center and handed over to the kabadiwalla.

Despite sergeation, we had quite a lot of landfill waste. 56.8% of waste collected was non-recyclable landfill waste.

Our team ensured the non-recyclables were safely disposed to the nearest landfill in Siliguri.

But our  team is determined to ensure as much as possible that we don’t send waste to the landfill.

So our fellows and intern continue to educate the villages about segregation at source.

Making dustbins out of waste and distributing them to homes

You might have  read about the efforts  to provide dustbins for the households in Jaubhari.

Our team has been making new dustbins to ensure each family has enough dustbins to segregate dry and wet waste properly.

This will greatly reduce the time and effort required from our team on segregating waste.

But for this to become routine, we have to be persistent.

Associating with families to drive zero-waste ideas into every home

Each Green Trails team member is responsible for 4-5 local families.

Every week, they visit their families to discuss proper waste disposal mechanisms. Green Trails fellows Anas, Shivaprasad and intern Himanshu teach basic segregation.

They help in waste disposal and dry-wet waste segregation using the handmade dustbins they made.

Slowly but surely, we hope to reduce the segregation activity at base.

Meanwhile, upcycling sessions with them have taken a new turn!

Until now, we have been coming up with upcycling ideas to reuse plastic waste.

Our team discovered a woman who makes beautiful mats with the help of plastic wrappers. She has been making them for almost 30 years now!

She taught our team how to use the plastic waste strips from food packaging like Wai Wai to make baskets and mats. The team admitted the procedure is quite challenging.

We want to spread this wonderful technique of reusing soft plastic waste into useful items that the community can use!

West Bengal Bhutia Development Board felicitates Green Trails

Plantation  and awareness drive organized by West Bengal Bhutia Development

The local NGO West Bengal Bhutia Development (WBBD) board was immensely happy to see the impact of the Green Trails initiative.

Last week, Green Trails and Bhutia Development organisation got together  to conduct an awareness drive in the region.

They distributed dustbins to the local shops and tea-houses along the trail, including Maneybhanjang.

The team made awareness signboards on proper waste disposal and management. They placed them along the Sandakphu trekking trail.

There also conducted a plantation drive in Kaiyakatta where saplings.

After the drive,  our Green Trails fellow Anas met with WBBD’s leader.

Let me tell you a little bit about this project.

Green Trails had found that houses along the Sandakphu trail were willing to gather their waste.

This was as long as there were arrangements for it  to be transported down.

For the many years now, villagers had been collecting waste and burning it because there was no system to transport the waste!

When WBBD  heard about our project to help transport waste, they were keen to collaborate.

Together we hope to set up a system to find an exit  for the waste collected on the Sandakphu trail.

With more collaborations and more proactive villagers, Green Trails team in Jaubhari are motivated to keep the momentum up!

Let us know if you have a green idea which we could employ in the mountains. We would love to hear from you in the comments section below.

With more locals from Jaubari participating in the Indiahikes Green Trails initiative, we have been able to collect, segregate and reuse a big load of waste from the Sandakphu trail. Here are the latest updates.

1330kg Waste Collected And Segregated At Sandakphu Over 6 Months

After a series of dialogue and persistent efforts from our Green Trails crusader Mohit, the Commissioner of Haldwani has granted us permission to use use the landfill for disposing off non recyclable waste. This permission allows us to dump non-recyclable waste collected from our treks as well as from villages around in the trenching ground for free.

The regular practice so far has been to transport the waste from Lohajung to Dehradun. With this new permission in place, not only does the cost of transportation come down but it also acts as a partial waste management system for villages around Lohajung and for the Roopkund trek.

The villagers have already been giving their waste to indiahikes. Mohit is now working on finalising terms with the Taxi Union to transport all the waste to Haldwani. 

In Mohit’s absence the village Pradhan continued to collect sacks of garbage on his won. At last count, he had collected over 25 sacks. 

For us, this is the first sign of a welcome change in Lohajung. It reveals that villagers are starting to become far more proactive participants of the solution to the waste management problem than ever.

Waste collection log this month in Lohajung: 

Meanwhile in Sankri, our Green Trails interns Shantanu and Shashwat organized an extensive clean-up with the school children.  They targeted the main market road and dump spots on the way to the school.  Around 200 children participated enthusiastically in the clean-up.

School children assembled before the eco club clean up drive in Sankri

The interns followed up the clean up drive with a poster making event. The theme was ‘environmental pollution’. The event saw over 30 children unleashing their creativity.

Participants of the poster making event at Sankti

Shantanu says, “We told them about the theme and a few slogans. We also gave them free reign to draw anything they felt like, related to the slogans. It was fun helping them and giving them any guidance. The children gave it their all in making these posters. From the posters, I could see that they are aware of the problem and want to be a part of the solution.”

The Indiahikes staff at Sankri conducted a clean up drive in the surrounding villages last week. They collected over 405 kg of empty liquor bottles strewn across the slopes. We sent this waste down to Purola.

Would you like to buy an upcycled pillow?

Green Trails interns Shantanu and Shaktisuman are now trying to put the plastic waste found in Sankri to a different use. They have started making pillows with this waste.

These pillows will be put up on sale in the coming weeks for anyone to buy. We hope to use the funds generated through the sale to incentivize villagers to segregate waste at source and give it to us in a clean state. If you are going to Kedarkantha, you can take a look at these pillows and buy them at the end of your trek if you wish.

Students participating in the workshop at Sari

Meanwhile, at Sari, our trek leader Rajkumar conducted a workshop for around 60 students from classes 6-8 in the local school. Indiahikes has been engaging with this school for Green Trails activities for a long time now.

Along with basic English, Rajkumar also taught them about the different kinds of waste found in their surroundings. He was pleasantly surprised by the knowledge that these children already possessed. This workshop will continue for a few more days.

Our Green Trails team is always game for new ideas and ways to tackle the growing waste crisis in the mountains. If you have any ideas to contribute, please email Lakshmi, our Green Trails Head on lakshmi@indiahikes.com.

Indiahikes Gets Permission To Use Haldwani Landfill For Non-Recyclable Waste

Jagatsukh, the former capital of Kullu has become a popular tourist destination. Located 12 km from Manali, it has tourists flocking in everyday.

This has resulted in an increase in the waste accumulated on streets. The streets of Jagatsukh lack dustbins. This makes the tourists dispose their wrappers on the streets. Packets of chips, alcohol bottles and chocolate wrappers are a common sight. The growing pile of wrappers has caused serious damage to the drainage system of the village. Many drains have been clogged with these plastic wastes. 

Manali is our starting point for a lot of treks in Himachal like the Hampta Pass and the Bhrigu Lake trek. An approximate 3000+ trekkers hiked the Hampta Pass and Brighu lake trail just this season. Imagine the amount of waste these 3000+ trekkers must have generated. 

The town’s waste disposal system is almost non-existent. Most of Jagatsukh’s waste is disposed by the river banks instead of going to the landfills. As the river swells up it sweeps all the waste docked on the banks downstream which contaminates the water. This is a big problem! 

Picking up waste from the streets is only a temporary solution. Hence, our interns are working relentlessly towards designing a more sustainable solution.

What Indiahikes decided to do about it 

In the meantime, the Indiahikes staff couldn’t bear the sight of these waste mountains and took matters into their own hands. They decided to clean the streets themselves.

We had 12 members from Indiahikes (both trek leaders and kitchen staff), two Green Trails interns and 23 women from the Mahila Mandal get together to put an end to the waste epidemic. 

They began the cleanup activity by clearing out the waste thrown on the main road and slowly moved into the streets. They also made it a point to clean the areas around the primary government school to set an example for the children.

Trek Leader Himanshu says, “The women here are very progressive. They want to grow along with the rest of the village and believe this is possible by bettering living conditions.”

Together they cleared a whopping 485 kg of waste! 

This waste was further segregated into recyclable and non-recyclable waste. We were left with 15 kg of recyclable waste and 470 kg of non-recyclable waste. 

Here is how our Green Trails team and the Mahila Mandal in Jagatsukh came together to clear 485 kg of waste from the town.

Waste Management

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