Mangrove Marshalls turn waste into “HELP” message in Navi Mumbai clean-up drive

Waste collected by Mangrove Marshalls at Sagar Vihar in Vashi, Navi Mumbai

A stretch of mangroves at Sagar Vihar in Vashi, Navi Mumbai, is both a dumping ground and a site of resistance, with Mangrove Marshalls - a group of citizen volunteers - gathering there every Sunday to collect waste.

The volunteers recently created a striking "HELP" sign using garbage pulled out from the ecosystem. The powerful visual, formed after sustained clean-up drives across Vashi's coastal belt, highlights the alarming scale of pollution threatening Navi Mumbai's green lungs.

The sign made by volunteers from trash. Pics/By Special Arrangement

From plastic waste and liquor bottles to shoes, toys, and discarded clothes, the mangroves are choking under the weight of human negligence. Volunteers say the initiative has, over time, led to the removal of more than 420 truckloads of waste since 2018 - a staggering reflection of the crisis unfolding silently along the city's shoreline.

Civic body's support

Supporting the initiative by the Vrajj Foundation, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation ensures the waste is processed scientifically. "The waste collected by volunteers is transported by us to the Integrated Waste Management Facility at Turbhe, where it is segregated. Recyclable materials are processed, footwear is upcycled and distributed to the underprivileged, while contaminated waste is converted into refuse-derived fuel (RDF) for cement kilns. We also bear the transportation cost," said Jayshree Adhal, sanitary officer, Vashi ward office.

Volunteers speak

Ananth Krishna
‘To see one mangrove branch freed from the chokehold grip of waste plastic and drifted garbage makes Mangrove Marshalls worthwhile and gratifying to be a part of. Rock on, Marshalls'

Rohitt Malhotra
‘I would like to request people to reflect on their behaviour, which is based on unbridled consumption and selfish convenience. People have to understand that this behaviour has got us into a situation where not only are other species suffering, but it has also started impacting humans directly, with microplastics entering our food chain, leading to life-threatening diseases'

Kapithra Kannapiran
‘Our truest assets on Earth are our natural resources. The five elements - air, water, soil, sky, and fire - sustain life. All that Mother Earth asks is a symbiotic pact. Tiny actions from our side can bring colossal change if we come together'

Bhavesh Rajpurohit
"I have been participating in regular mangrove clean-up drives at Sagar Vihar for the past three years. We collect and segregate waste responsibly. We find everything from liquor bottles to bed sheets here. Through these efforts, we aim to restore the mangrove ecosystem and spread awareness about sustainable living'

Savita Rajiv
‘Sagar Vihar, holding ponds, mini seashore areas, TS Chanakya, DPS Lake and many such spots must be declared protected. Sagar Vihar alone is home to over 113 bird species, including migratory birds from as far as the Arctic. In 1997, there were 26 migratory species, and that number has reduced. We need open spaces and calmness without disturbance from recreation, littering and concreting'