KEEN- Keeping The Environment Ecologically Natural

A constituted and registered committee of highly motivated Mussoorie citizens have assisted in pursuing a new incarnation of the intentions and dreams of Dick Wechter and others for the care of and reclaiming of the environment of Mussoorie. One of the first tasks attempted by the workers and committee of KEEN in early 2016 was be the removal of dumped debri below Char Dhukan and along the figure 8 Chakkar around the top of our mountain, Lal Tibba.

After much discussion, KEEN signed up to perform daily waste pickup from households, businesses and hotels in Wards 1 through 6 of Mussoorie. The greatest challenge of this task is to change the behavioural habits of residents and visitors: waste has been tossed out the window or off the road for generations. The second task is to get every home. every business, every hotel to segregate wet, bio-degradable waste from dry non-degradable, largely recyclable waste.

KEEN has had first-hand experience over the years that waste which is separated at origin can be up to 90% recyclable. Consistent separation at source, easy to do but difficult to instill as a behavioural norm is our goal for Mussoorie.

KEEN has two continuing requests as we continue our attempts to care for the environment of Mussoorie –

1. Please feel free to email me, the author of this document at dana.crider1@gmail.com or Ashok Mahindroo at ashok@hospitalityhandsfree.com or Sunil Panwar at sunilpanwar904@gmail.com regarding any waste clean-up tasks you think we should undertake here in Mussoorie.

2. Please feel free to correspond with us regarding innovative and sustainable practices of waste management. Our big challenges are the disposal of chip and candy wrappers, tetra packaging, poly-styrene and other non-recyclable materials. We would like to be able to say we do nothing to add to landfill-type solutions.

This is a story in progress, and we look forward to writing and adding new chapters. The KEEN and great desire is that, building on our previous experiences and practices, there will indeed be a growing sustainability of the undertakings and developing programmes of this NGO –
Keeping the EnvironmentEcologicallyNatural