‘To reduce waste, malls must be encouraged to recycle, reuse’

CHENNAI: E-retail has become a dominant factor for malls in the city, which has significantly impacted the small traders, says Aum Gohil, an architect, who has won Best Sustainable Design at the International-Asia Young Designer Award 2021 by Nippon Paint recently.

“During the lockdown, when malls were shut, consumers depended on e-commerce sites. And the e-retail sale increased significantly, and smaller malls and traders lost significant amount of business due to this. Even bigger malls are slightly impacted in recent days, and wondering about sustainability,” explained Aum.

While visiting a mall, consumers end up buying more than what they need, and this, later, becomes be waste. “This becomes a part of a larger circular cycle. Efforts of recycling and reusing should be an active part of the consumerist culture,” pointed out Aum.

The method of reuse and recycle must be introduced within a larger chain, which can be utilised to change the mindset of people. Every stakeholder has a role to play and to contribute towards reducing waste, he averred.

“Currently, the mall is only for consumption, but after following certain ways, it can be used to protect the environment as well. It cannot be done in 1 way or within a short time. But we must think of ways to adapt newer programmes of repurposing as a part of the mall culture to make them sustainable, and eventually move towards a zero-waste goal,” Aum added.