[box type=”shadow” ]Bangalore generates about 3,500-4,000 tonnes of waste (40-45% wet and the remaining 60% dry and mixed waste) each day. With 189 dry waste collection centres, systematic collection, transportation and processing, Bangalore is making great strides in SWM, recycling and composting. Sarfaraz Khan Sardar, Joint Commissioner (Health & SWM), Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the face behind Bengaluru ‘s SWM measures, shares his initiatives along with tips and tricks in an interview with Vijayalakshmi Sridhar[/box]
The Processes involved in daily waste collection and disposal
Paurakarmikas have been engaged to do door-to-door collection in each ward which is divided into blocks of 750 houses. They are also stationed at every 500m on the roads for sweeping streets. The segregated waste is delivered in autorickshaws to the transit point where the compactors are filled to proceed to the landfill sites. Meanwhile, the dry waste collected in plastic jumbo bags are taken to the collection centres and sent to recycling locations. The situation is of course changing with the ban on plastic now.
There are black spots where irresponsibly dumped garbage is accumulated. These could be from bulk generators who have not tied up with the empanelled contractors; people who work at odd hours and miss the door-step collectors or the simply insensitive and irresponsible citizens. In order to streamline this, we have installed CCTV cameras in those spots and with consistent efforts we keep eliminating them.
Everyday after 11.30am, following the free lunch, the pourakarmikas return to the fields, form teams of four to five members to trim the trees in the public landscape and also collect traditional garbage, if any, before winding work by 2pm. This process has brought accountability into the system. Also each auto is numbered and tracked, failing which RWAs send an alert.
We have also passed an order that anybody not collecting 50% of the segregated waste will face15% cut in the contract fee. In fact, from January 1,2017, only wet waste will be collected from the households. Also for bulk generators, we have made it compulsory to tie up with authorised contractors or with service providers having digestors or maintenance provision.
Yelahanka has successfully impleted this process. It collects 90-95% segregated waste and has eliminated black spots completely. The larger apartments are composting their wet waste and segregating plastic waste and selling it to the contractors. Specifically, ward no 111- Shanthala Nagar collects 98% segregated waste using this micro plan.
The Challenges in the system and steps taken to handle them
We are tighteneing the system, computerising it and the autorickshaws are given going to be on biometric attendance and GPS tracking. Further, to make it more systematic, we are appointing retired marshals or military servicemen, one in each ward, to become the civic warriors. They will oversee the operation from both sides – fine those who are not segregating and report about the officers who are not doing their job well. The plan has gone for approval and the marshals will be on a uniformed and paid service.
The next step would be procurement of our own compactors and mechanised sweepers that can be truck mounted for use on main roads and operated on two shifts depending on the traffic density. There will be one for each of the eight zones in the city.
Issues faced in waste processing
Bangalore has seven processing plants, with two exclusively for wet waste. The other plants take mixed waste. During the process of composting, the local villagers protest over the smell emanating from these plants. For now, we are running the plant on reduced volumes. Besides composting, the quarry pits are being used for garbage dumping. We are composting and making green spaces. In Bommanahalli, a stadium is coming up on the landfill.
