The interviews and reporting for this story have been performed in June 2025.

Each morning in Navjivan Vihar, South Delhi, 280 households begin their day like most of us — making tea, packing lunchboxes, and preparing for work or college. However there’s one small factor all of them do this makes their colony very completely different: they separate their waste into three bins — moist, dry, and unsafe.

It appears like a tiny behavior. However over time, it has made an enormous distinction.

For the previous six years, not even one bag of rubbish from this colony has gone to a landfill.

The story goes again eight years, when Dr Ruby Makhija, who lives right here and is a physician, grew to become the RWA secretary.

“As a physician, I’ve seen how dangerous sanitation could make individuals sick. After I obtained this function, I lastly had an opportunity to alter issues in my very own neighbourhood,” she says.

The very first thing she labored on was getting everybody to segregate their waste correctly.

She and her staff went door to door, speaking to individuals, answering questions, and clearing doubts. Some individuals have been fearful about dangerous smells. Some thought it was an excessive amount of work. Even the waste employees mentioned, “This isn’t our job.”

However Dr Ruby didn’t hand over. She despatched every day updates, made quick movies, and saved sharing data to elucidate why this was vital.

Slowly, issues started to alter.

As we speak, 125 kg of kitchen waste will get composted each single day and is used to make the gardens greener. Dry waste like plastic, paper and glass goes to recyclers. Garments, furnishings, and even fuel cylinders are donated by their Triple R Centre, and over 30 tonnes of this stuff have been reused by NGOs.

 

However that’s not all. The colony additionally saves water by utilizing rainwater harvesting and aerators on faucets. They actually have a group fridge the place individuals can go away further meals for anybody who wants it.

The numbers are superb:

• 17 tonnes of plastic recycled
• 3,000 kg of e-waste diverted
• 30+ tonnes of things donated and reused
• And 6 years of zero rubbish reaching landfills

For those who go to the colony as we speak, you’ll see inexperienced gardens, clear streets, and a peaceable vibe. You gained’t see the onerous work that goes on behind the scenes. However for Dr Ruby and the residents, this has change into a traditional a part of life — a small behavior that fully modified their colony’s future.