BANGALORE: She is not a pourakarmika but she cleans roads, vacant sites, drains filled with plastic and paper waste. Armed with gloves, she picks up dry waste littered around her locality in OMBR Layout. Myriam Shankar (43), a German by birth, wants to create a waste-sensitive community in her neighbourhood. And like any noble initiative, her’s too began on a small scale, from her very doorstep. “Civic agencies mustn’t be blamed for all the mess. In my own locality though door-to-door garbage collection happens, lots of plastic and paper are found littered all over the drain and roads. People think they must clean their house and throw the garbage out. As long as they don’t start worrying about the hygiene factor outside their homes, nothing much can be done,” she says. Myriam is a member of Solid Waste Management Round Table ( SWMRT) which is guiding the corporation in drawing up a solid waste management plan for the city.