5 years of raising our voices against plastic pollution.
5 years of demanding producer responsibility.
5 years of cleaning up the mountains.
5 years of solidarity among mountain people.
5 years of showing our love for the mountains.
It's time for The Himalayan Cleanup, 2023.
Be a part of this Himalayan movement. Organise your cleanup.
The Himalayan
Cleanup Journey
The Himalayan Cleanup - a day to show our love for the mountains. This simple idea that took shape in 2018 grew to become one of the biggest campaigns that our mighty mountains witnessed. The idea was simple, but it was powerful too. It was not just a regular cleanup. We wanted to understand what was in our waste, and who were the top polluters of the mountains.
An open call for participating in THC had more than 250+ organisations and institutions from across the mountains joining in to clean up sites in their own areas. From Jammu and Kashmir to Sikkim to Arunachal Pradesh, around 15000 people came together to show their concern and love for the mountains. It also showed how the plastic pollution was a crisis across the mountain states.
Since then, The Himalayan Cleanup has continued every year with volunteers doing home based audits during the pandemic times. THC is now observed from May 26 - 30, and volunteers can choose any one day in between these dates to conduct their cleanup exercise.
The Himalayan
Cleanup Process
Select your cleanup site
A popular tourist spot,
a famous landmark,
ecological areas, campuses,
a stretch of road, etc.
Gather volunteers
Enroll volunteers through schools/ colleges/ organisations or individuals. Use social media or by word of mouth.
Register your event
Register your event online. This helps us keep track of all events that are being planned. You can choose any day between May 26 - 30.
Procure materials
Brief the volunteers
Make noise
Gloves (important) and sacks to pick and collect the waste. Weighing scale and data sheets. Do not forget to make provisions for water.
Do dedicate some time to brief the volunteers on how the cleanup is to be carried out, and on wearing proper clothing and shoes.
Invite local media to cover the event.
Take photographs of the cleanup for sharing.
The Himalayan Cleanup is not just a cleanup and dump exercise. It involves a waste and brand audit too, and volunteers have to be prepared for this exercise that requires diligence and patience. It involves the following steps
Collect
Collect all the waste in clean up area and bring to the sorting area
segregatE
Segregate and classify the waste as per the guide.
audit
Count, weigh and audit each category of waste. Follow the visual guide.
record
Fill up the data sheet and upload it.
Conducting The Himalayan Cleanup
Why do waste and brand audits?
Participants get their hands dirty and reflect on existing consumption patterns and waste.
Knowing our trash is a great place to begin the journey of zero waste.
Inputs to policy exercises and advocating for extended producer responsibility with companies whose products create maximum waste in the mountains.
Managing the collected waste
The Himalayan Cleanup should focus only on collecting non-biodegradable waste. All biodegradable waste should be left where they are.
From the segregated waste, recyclable materials should go to the local material recovery through scrap dealers and rag pickers.
All other non-recyclable residual waste should be sent to the landfill or authorised dumping site. Link up with your local authorities.
Coordinating Organisations
Zero Waste Himalaya
zerowastesikkimdarjeeling@gmail.com
9932024812
9434153401
9733088003
9679476909
Integrated Mountain Initiative
https://www.mountaininitiative.in/
Tayakhim’, J-155, Tadong, Gangtok, Sikkim – 737102