Put your hand in the toilet and change the world

I have two kids. That means tons of diapers. Only I am not one to buy those diapers that degrade in 400...oh yes 400 years.

So I used cloth and some years ago discovered a more convenient option. The G diaper--biodegradable, flushable, totally eco friendly. But instead of throwing it--sending it into the landfill and pondering whether or how it degrades there, I flush them. This means putting it in the toilet a certain prescribed way, using a swivel stick to ahem...distribute the contents of the diaper evenly then whoosh...flushing them away.

Sometimes all goes well. At others, it does not and the water level in the WC rises along with unspeakable contents.

Now is when one must stay calm and be brave if one must aspire to change the world. One must not flinch from putting one's hand right in with all that catastrophe. Well...hand is a bit of a misnomer for at those depths one's arm goes in up to the elbow or more if unlucky. Then one must unflinchingly turn away one's face and dislodge what is stuck. And voila, all will be well.

This as you can imagine, is not for the faint hearted. I have cried, cursed myself on occasion, for my stubbornness about using only these "difficult" items so the burden on mother earth is less But through all those melodramatic moments, thankfully I persevere.

Sometimes, however, the rewards of doing the "green" thing are wonderful. I have been composting for about two years now. This summer with the intense heat that's been sweeping across the city, the compost pile has received a shot in the arm, as it were. No longer did it look like a pile of garbage. It has finally started to turn into that fine black dust the experts promise.

And to add to the magic, I found a plant growing in the heap. I fished it out and found it to be a mango seed that had sprouted. The sight was magical. My mum has grown a flourishing guava tree in compost and here I was with my very own fledgling tree. Immediately I dragged my older son out, we fetched a pot, filled it with compost and planted the sapling. My son's eyes were sparkling at the sight of the seed from which emerged this lush green sapling. He proudly said he'd take compost to a show and tell at class.

I thought I'd burst with pride. It was one of those soppy B-movie moments. I felt like I was bringing up my child with all the right values. It felt oh so wonderful.

And even though the feeling only lasted a handful of precious minutes...for I soon found I had committed some silly blunder or the other...I had a notion that maybe, just maybe I have got a few things right.