{"id":4726,"date":"2022-11-05T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-05T04:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adventure.auroville.com\/?p=4726"},"modified":"2026-04-21T14:37:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T10:07:12","slug":"zero-waste-b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventure.auroville.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/05\/zero-waste-b\/","title":{"rendered":"All Matter is Sacred: B on Living Without Waste"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It has been 48 years since B came to Auroville \u2013 and he is still as committed as ever to protecting our precious planet. In his daily life, he tries to reduce waste in any way he can. With his goddaughter Bhakti, B has created the Heartcore Cyclist T-shirts, aiming to raise awareness about waste, recycling and upcycling. We sat down to get B\u2019s unique perspective on waste management, and why he thinks it is time to reconsider some fundamental consumer categories.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe current world cultures mostly still believe that there is such a thing as waste,\u201d says B. \u201cBut waste is a concept that was promoted by consumerist-driven corporations, who want to influence people to buy more and more things. When something has finished its so-called useful life \u2013 or if it\u2019s caught in planned obsolescence \u2013 then it\u2019s discarded and considered to be useless waste.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast, B lives with what some call a Zero Waste approach, though he is critical of that term. Zero Waste<\/em> is the name chosen for policies pursued by various cities and municipalities around the world. San Francisco is often lauded as having reached that goal, where everything disposed of in the city gets treated in some way, diverted away from the landfill. There is a strict collection system and stringent fines to impose it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut each of us as individuals needs to have that kind of consciousness\u201d, B asserts. Vegetable peels from the kitchen are valuable material that can create methane and compost. Every household can have its own composting system, and under-sink biogas digesters are now readily available. What\u2019s more, rather than ending up with a pile of plastics, consumers can refuse buying their products in plastic packaging to begin with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Trap of Machine Segregation<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat has happened,\u201d says B, \u201cis that some corporations have decided: \u2018No, you don\u2019t have to sort your waste. We will sort it for you, and you will pay us'\u201d. Very large and expensive waste-sorting plants are being constructed in many places, where robots and automated systems sort the trash. This process is extremely energy intensive, and factory owners profit from reselling the end products \u2013 while residents are made to pay for it through their taxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some cities, waste is burned in large treatment plants to generate electricity under euphemisms such as Waste-to-energy. Incineration sends almost all the carbon content from that matter into the atmosphere as CO2<\/sub> \u2013 as well as toxins and heavy metals. Costing fuel to burn, it also destroys valuable resources which could otherwise have been recycled. These methods are not needed when people sort their own waste at home, B points out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Torii gate, Trash Mahal<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Building the Trash Mahal<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

B wanted to show that a house could be built out of anything, so he built his current home \u2013 the \u201cTrash Mahal\u201d \u2013 in 2015, after collecting waste materials on site for two years. The walls are made of compressed earth blocks which were being discarded as substandard. Old VHS tapes are incorporated into the walls, and glass bottles serve as colourful skylights. Discarded ceramics become artistic wall caps, while washing machine doors are repurposed as windows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As B was preparing to build the house, a cyclone struck Auroville, knocking down many trees. A big African mahogany (Khaya senegalensis) fell in front \u2013 and B used its branches for pillars. Other fallen trees were transformed into a Torii gate, inspired by the structures erected at the entrance to Japanese Shinto temples, believed to clear away one\u2019s bad karma. A discarded ceramic hand from an art project has been covered in jewels, likewise on their way to the landfill \u2013 as a sign of destiny offering abundance to the visitor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n