While training for marathons in 2013, Srini Swaminathan started plogging, an eco-friendly exercise where one picks up trash while jogging or brisk walking. He later initiated volunteer-driven cleanliness programmes in his hometown Chennai. Gradually, he began adopting many habits based on the concept of circular economy. “At our home, my parents and I segregate waste into a total of seven categories. We have been composting waste for the past five years. We’ve also installed rainwater harvesting and solar home lighting systems to reduce energy usage. The only waste products leaving my house are thermocol and Styrofoam, and that’s because I haven’t figured out what to do with them,” shares the social development consultant.

Swaminathan has written a book with another planet healer, Shubhashree Sangameswaran. The book titled, (Im)perfectly Zero Waste (Hachette India), is the duo’s attempt to compile their learnings and share them with people who don’t know how to begin living sustainably.