A section of the participants engaged in the Waste Hunt event organized by Living For Environment (LiFE) in Forest Colony, Dimapur on March 12. (Photo Courtesy: LiFE)
‘Waste Hunters’ gather 92.31 kilos of garbage; Volume of litter too great for single session to clear, says LiFE
Morung Express News
Dimapur | March 12
On March 12, residents of Forest Colony, Dimapur gathered for a unique event. They gathered at 6:30 am, armed with gloves, sacks, and a shared determination to reclaim their neighbourhood from a menace that had quietly accumulated over time: waste.
“Collect the most dry waste and collect a prize,” the event poster read. Titled ‘Waste Hunt’, the event was organized by Living For Environment (LiFE), an environmental NGO that has been working to put in place an effective and sustainable waste management system, and enabling communities to create and adopt a ‘sustainable community design’.
“Who says waste can’t be fun? We are officially bringing the fun to the cleanliness drive “drag” with our first-ever Waste Hunt! We are hosting this activity with the Forest Colony community to turn waste management into an adventure. It’s part cleanup, part competition, and 100% community vibes,” LiFE posted earlier on their Instagram account.
As such, ‘Waste Hunt’ was more than just a cleanup drive. It was designed as a challenge that would transform an ordinary act of picking up litter into a spirited community mission.
“The initiative was designed to foster a sense of shared responsibility and community spirit through an engaging, competitive cleanup format,” Niksungla, Founder-Chairman Living for Environment (LiFE) told The Morung Express on Thursday.
She informed that, since April 2025, LiFE has been partnering with the Forest Colony community under its project, Sustainable Environment Action for Green Forest Colony (SEAGFC). The project aims to introduce community-driven interventions to address urgent local environmental challenges. The Waste Hunt was a key component of this project, designed to engage residents in a fun and competitive cleanup format.
During the ‘Hunt,’ residents formed teams to scout and collect dry/inorganic waste from across the colony. A total of 5 teams participated in the challenge, fanning out across lanes, corners, and open spaces.
The activity was supervised by the LiFE team who also conducted a formal assessment, including weighing of the waste collected.
Across the five participating teams, a total of 92.31 kg of waste was diverted from the environment, according to the organisers. Team ‘Brothers’ secured the top spot, collecting a staggering 29.485 kg of waste, as informed by the LiFE team.
While the event successfully mobilized the community, as the piles of waste were weighed and recorded, another realization quietly emerged. “Despite the competitive incentive, the sheer volume of litter proved too great for a single session to clear,” Niksungla shared.
She also noted that, while the ‘Waste Hunt’ is a step toward a cleaner colony, the persistent issue of littering remains a significant predicament that requires ongoing behavioral change and consistent community action.
On being queried whether there would be any more events like this in the future for other colonies as well, she stated that it would depend on the response of the communities. “This was an initial assessment for us as well. Adding incentives to a cleanliness activity is not such a sustainable or good practice. The idea behind the activity is to make people aware that, ‘It has to start with us and we need to act now,” she emphasized.
It was also informed that, the waste collected from Thursday’s event will be stored at a designated place to be addressed when LiFE’s next project rolls out.
