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Special
feature
Recycling:
Deshi style
"Kagoj,
puran kagoj" a young lad, around 16 to 17 years of age was shouting
in front of the garage gate. He had a large empty basket on top of his
head. When this writer beckoned him to come closer for a chat, his face
turned bright, thinking that this might be a good opportunity for him
to fill up the empty basket. The rain had put him out of business for
a few days. When he heard about the purpose of this meeting, he bashfully
told his story. His name is Mustafa. He has been doing this job since
age 12. He starts early in the morning and circles around 7 to 8 neighbourhoods
a day. On a lucky day, he collects around 20kgs of used paper at the
price of tk8 per kg. He also purchases other used materials, mostly
plastic, glass and iron objects. Mustafa later sells his merchandise
or rather, his sack full of trash to the store. Time is precious for
this young lad so our conversation did not linger for long. With an
empty basket Mustafa went on his way shouting.
The
wicked magician in the story of Aladdin also collected used bits and
pieces like Mustafa. Instead of used paper he exchanged old lamps for
new ones. No one knows what happened to all the old lamps he collected.
But in our neighbourhood all the remnants go a long way from Mustafa's
basket. Mustafa's basket is the first stage of recycling deshi
style.
Ferriwallahs
like Mustafa sell their odd merchandise to neighbourhood scrap buyers.
These buyers take all the odds and pieces to the next level. Abdur Rahim,
one such buyer at Rupnagar, Mirpur area narrates how the rest of the
process actually works. Rahim's shop is probably the most odd looking
shop in the neighbourhood, stashed with all types of objects that we
would definitely term as garbage at first glance. Starting from used
plastic bottles, cooking pots, buckets, broken glass, pieces of iron,
and old newspapers to construction rubbish, all the leftovers produced
by the entire neighbourhood is there. Apart from organic waste, Rahim
buys anything that can be reused.
After purchasing
the stuff, Rahim separates all the objects, categorizing them according
to the material they're made of: glass, paper or plastic. Rahim waits
a week or so for a house full of matter and then sells his stock to
the Mahajon.
The next
stage of this scrap business takes place in the Mitford Hospital area
where all the scrap buyer Mahajons of Dhaka city can be found. Para
based scrap buyers like Rahim take all their merchandise to the market
locally known as Mitford Hospital Market. Mahajons shred all the items
they purchase. In the Chawkbazar area of Old Dhaka all these shredded
objects are sold. Various factories situated at Tongi, Jinjira or Narayangonj
purchase these shredded items. The final stage of this recycling bid
takes place in these localities, where all the objects are reprocessed
and turned in to new items.
Ferriwallahs
like Mustafa are mostly slum dwellers. Everyday we meet many scrap buyers
like him. Although money is the main mode of exchange but these people
allure their customers with very interesting marketing strategy, like
exchanging a brand new aluminium cooking pot for three old ones. Some
ferriwallahs offer vegetables in exchange of scrap. Denim jeans are
very precious to them. They even offer two cooking pots in exchange
for a pair. Exchange begins in the household level with homemakers having
close ties with these people. Homemakers sell all the unwanted objects
of the household to the ferriwallahs. For them it is a secret way of
earning some extra cash. These friendly neighbourhood ferriwallahs are
oblivious of the fact that the scraps and leftovers they collect are
later reprocessed and reused. Through their work these people are cleaning
the waste that we make. In a traditional way they are contributing to
recycling.
By
Shahnaz Parveen
Shop
talk
Rechargeable
Light
Summer has come a little early this year. Normally, we wouldn't be complaining
about the early arrival of summer. However, now we are, as it has brought
with it a phenomenon known as "power failure." Power failures
usually happen after dusk, and so we end up getting to play Daredevil
for free. Students with exams coming up are those most affected. A rechargeable
light can somewhat negate the effect of a power failure. Sony and Sanyo
are two brands of rechargeable lights available at electrical stores.
Prices of these rechargeable lights begin from Tk 850 onwards.
UPS
Imagine typing a lengthy document and then losing the whole thing to
a power cut because you didn't hit Ctrl+S in time. If you've lived in
Dhaka long enough then you don't have to imagine this incident as you
encounter it almost every other day. One way in which you can solve
this problem is by using a UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply). With the
support from a UPS, you will get a chance to save your work after power
failure takes place and also carry out with some necessary editing.
At the computer stores of IDB Bhaban and Elephant Road, a UPS (Brands:
Micro & Ideal) can be bought between Tk 2,400 to Tk 6,500.
Headband
Headbands are back in vogue again, and so if your hair tends to fly
about, just simply get hold of a headband and be both chic and hassle-free
at the same time. Nowadays some fashionable headbands are available
in the market, and they are quite reasonably priced. If you happen to
live in Gulshan you can check out Purple Haze (Gulshan 2, Near American
Burger), as they've got a decent collection of headbands. Their prices
are in the range of Tk 40 to Tk 140.
Flashlight
It is a device that can come in very handy during a power failure. Besides
keeping a flashlight at your home, you can also keep one in your car
so that if your vehicle develops any problems during the course of an
overnight journey, you can carry out primary repairs in sufficient light.
There are basically two types of torches available in the market. Battery
operated torches (Brand: Eveready) cost about Tk 320, while rechargeable
torches cost in the range of Tk 150 to Tk 450. Most rechargeable torches
are apparently imported from China & Taiwan. Both of these types
of torches are available at most electrical stores, department stores
and quality supermarkets.
Anti-Marks
Cream
Do you have dark circles? Do you have spots left from pimples? Has your
pregnancy left you with stretch marks? If you have answered yes to any
of these questions then you can consider using anti-marks cream. This
cream will gradually ensure that you will lose your unsightly marks.
In the market there are both local and foreign anti-marks creams. A
local brand, Fair & Lovely, will cost you about Tk 80 per tube.
On the other hand, foreign brands like Garnier, or No Marks, will cost
you Tk 110 to Tk275 and more per tube. Anit-Marks creams are available
at nearly all supermarkets. In the New Market you will get a lot of
options. You can also visit Almas or Lavender at Dhanmondi.
Brake
Oil
Whenever you apply the brakes of your car you would expect the vehicle
to stop, right? In most cases the car does stop, but if the engine doesn't
have any brake oil then no matter how hard you press the brake pedal,
the car will simply not stop. In other words, you'll probably have a
fatal accident. In order to avoid such a predicament, we suggest that
you regularly check whether your car has brake oil or not, and if you
find that the level of brake oil is low then you should immediately
add more brake oil. Well Run is a renowned brand of brake oil and it
is sold for Tk 110 at petrol pumps.
By
Sayeed Mahmud Nizam
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Essentials
Keep
shirts dry
Keeping it cool in this humid summer is a very hot topic. Wearing
coloured dress shirts and sweating in them leaves ugly wet patches.
Wearing a very thin cotton short sleeved T-shirt underneath absorbs
the sweat keeping your shirt looking smart. Look for these in New
Market. It might make you feel a little hotter underneath but it's
a small price to pay when looking good is important.
Stinky
shoes no more
Summer and men's shoes result in feet that defeat DCC dustbins in
a smell competition. It's a great tool for clearing a room of unwanted
guests. Sweaty feet do not smell unless they are left in that condition
for a long time allowing bacteria to decompose the matter. Best way
to avoid that is to wash the feet before wearing and changing to fresh
pairs of socks every time.
Open
sandals
The feet can breathe easier if open sandals are worn except do make
it a habit to wash the feet regularly as well cleaning the insole.
Leather or cloth coverings absorb the sweat and dust and you know
what happens then.
Fresh
skin
The dust in the streets added to the oily skin in this humidity create
a mud pack you definitely don't want. Small packs of tissues are great.
If you carry a relatively large bag or travel by car get a small pot
of moist tissues. These soothe and cleanse at the same time. Also
regular washing could irritate the skin so use a soap free face wash
lotion.
Umbrella
If you carry around an egg under the sun you can almost boil it. Imagine
your head in place of the egg. For this nothing beats an umbrella.
It keeps you in the shade and also helps during sudden downpours that
are coming soon.
Cool
cars
Car engines get more stressed in this heat especially when the air
conditioner is turned on and you are stuck in a jam. Over heating
can be a serious problem so it's a wise idea to top up your radiator
not with water but with purpose built coolant fluid. These keep the
engines running cooler for longer. That way you stay cooler too.
By
Ehsanur Raza Ronny
 On
the cover
Dressydale
welcomes Boishakh with their new fashion line that puts a contemporary
spin on a traditional look. Pop into any DD outlets and grab one of
these trendy buys.
Photo:
Ashis Sengupta
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