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BBMP needs some lessons on Waste Management
Written By Bengloorappa - 10 June, 2008
Civic amenities Bangalore BBMP Waste Management
It has been reported in Yesterday's(9-Jun) Deccan Herald that BBMP's contractors are dumping sold waste, including harmful Bio waste in the serene surroundings of Bannerghatta National Park. The report even says that the contractors are paying some persons Rs 200 per day to buy their silence.
It is dismal, to say the least, as to how much irreversible damage can be caused to the fragile eco-system around BG National park.
It is high time the waste management strategies of the BBMP change and we can help too.
I am trying to compile a list of some waste management strategies,
1. More localization of waste management by Waste seggregation at household level and sorting at ward level - Right now Waste is collected door-to-door and dumped into garbage trucks locally, which contributes immensely to under-utilization of good waste and contributes to hazardous land-fill sites.
Instead if,
a. It is made mandatory for residents to segreggate garbage and collection refused if not sorted.
b. Garbage thus collected is classfied as Kitchen waste, Plastic(non-degradable), Hazardous(Batteries), Recyclable(Glass, Metal) by collection agents at the particular site locally
c. The sorted waste is then handed over to local Recyclers, KK Plastic Waste Management(Khan Bros, who use plastic for water-proofing roads) etc.
d. Waste that cannot be recycled can then be dumped in land-fill sites by garbage contractors.
2. Rope-in trash collectors and employ them as BBMP trash collection agents, providing much needed employment and make them responsible for collection of garbage.
3. Put an end to the Garbage contractor lobby, who make a mockery of the environment and loot money from the govt. using largely falsified records. Instead, BBMP should aid their transition into full scale recylers who have incentives in recyling and managing the chain. Waste that cannot be recycled should be handed to these agents for usage as land-fill after compaction
4. Educate people on the growing hazards of indiscriminate waste dumping and on the incentives of waste seggregation and proper waste management. Local participation is absolutely necessary for the success of this system
5. Invite multi-national firms that help in capturing carbon and in return provide revenue to BBMP by selling those carbon credits on the Internation markets - Tons of Co2 is emitted by burning waste in the outskirts of Bangalore, which makes life unbearable for people living in Slums around the fringes.
6. Impose green tax on items/equipment that cannot be easily disposed-off such as Batteries, Refrigerants etc, to provide revenue for these operations.
COMMENTS
silkboard - 11 June, 2008 - 17:01
Nice post sir, and very good points. Its not a subject like traffic or airport, so dont expect lots of reads or comments :)
Wanted to ask you for some insights on this "Garbage contractor lobby" - whats the modus operandi? How do the falsify records - what records are they mandated to keep in the first place?
An incident - dumping chemicals?
silkboard - 11 June, 2008 - 17:10
This reminds me of something I experienced about an year ago. I was noticing that two trucks (the water carrying type) used to just come and park near Varthur lake on the way to Varthur Kodi. It was odd that they would just stand at those few spots for almost the full day and then re-appear next morning. And, what stood out was that they used to leak what looked like water.
After 4-5 days of observing, it hit me that these trucks could be just standing and disposing off some liquids they are not supposed to. So I went to them and asked politely as to why they park there, and told them it blocks the traffic. I am not sure if they thought I was more than curious or what, they weren't to be seen from the next day.
Light at the end of the tunnel
Bengloorappa - 12 June, 2008 - 11:51
In today's DH there is some good news and Hope for eco-friendly management of garbage that Bangaloreans churn out.
TerraFirma an NGO is setting up a 1,000 tonne per day waste processing unit. It is setting up technology to process waste. It is yet unknown whether that will end up being a purely landfill based unit or a sensible unit that recycles waste as well. Going by the name, it may do it. It will be one of the best things to happen in the waste management scenario of Bangalore.
The BBMP is also inviting tenders from "Individuals and NGO's" (notice the deliberate absence of "Companies", perhaps to avoid contractor lobbies) to operate on a BOT basis a waste disposal mechanism with their own technology and resources, but with about 25acres of land on the outskirts of Bangalore.
This is good on two counts,
1. Private players are given freedom to convert waste into compost, vermi-compost, bio-gas and energy and sell the end products
2. Private players bring in their own technology, business model and are paid only lifting charges for waste; There is a lot of money to be made by private players here and there will be competition for sure.
I hope the evaluation process is a rigorous and meritorious one.
May not be the panacea because,
1. Where there is money, there are always vested interests. The KSPCB has to ensure that it keeps a vigilant watch on the players closely
2. It is not binding on the parties to recycle waste. They could just compact waste and use it as a landfill in their allocated land, however there are many incentives against doing so as metals, compost, plastic recycled can sell for a good price.
I hope the private players also cash-in on ability to generate carbon credits by recycling waste and by preventing the current method of incinerating waste on the outskirts. Bio gas generation is also a good opportunity.
Perhaps, these private players can also hire the current garbage contractor agents for ferrying garbage from the city, so that they dont end up being a spanner in their wheel.
BBMP to have garbage segregation points
Bengloorappa - 22 August, 2008 - 09:15
This is one of todays' news item in Indian Express,
http://bangalorebuzz.blogspot.com/2008/08/bbmp-to-have-garbage-segregation-points.html#links
Looks like a leaf out of our book - BBMP wants to go local with Garbage Management, they are surely learning from their past mistakes.
It will be great to see more than 50% of the garbage generated being used for such purposes.
But, I am a bit unhappy that it is coming so late in the day and goes on to prove that unless their feet is held to fire, nothing moves within BBMP. As they say "Better late than never".
I hope to be able to raise this point in the BBMP thru' a Praja representative.
What happened to Incineration ?
Naveen - 28 February, 2009 - 05:50
Some years back, there was a proposal to import incinerators to assist & reduce the no. of landfill sites. Does any one have information on this ?
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