Waste segregation: City yet to catch on

The Mandur landfill site is set to shut down on February 1 depriving Bangaloreans of a major rubbish dumping yard. But a majority of the citizens are yet to grasp the concept of segregation of waste at source and implement it, thus potentially paving the way for another garbage crisis in the City.

Barring a few apartments, not many people have adhered to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike’s grandiose plans to keep the City clean and reduce the burden on landfills.

A reality check by Deccan Herald revealed many households have no clue about waste segregation. While those who have heard about it  believe it is a very time-consuming exercise. Others blamed the pourakarmikas for not having separate bins for dry and wet waste.

Chintana, a resident of Kumaraswamy Layout, said she had heard about segregation of waste but had no idea how to do it.

Gayathri of Arehalli and Manjunath, a resident of AGS Layout, said they do not have the time to separate waste. “It is a time-consuming job. My husband and I go to work; so we do not have time to separate waste. I keep reminding our domestic help, but she is very careless,” said Gayathri.

Manjunath blamed the female members of the family. “My wife and my mother manage the kitchen, but they are not ready to know what segregation of waste is all about.”

Manohar H N of Peenya says he is keen on segregating waste at source, but wants pourakarmikas to bring separate bins for wet and dry waste. “What is the use of segregating garbage when the pourakarmikas bring just one bin? They themselves say they do not want segregated waste.”

BBMP meeting

BBMP Commissioner Siddaiah said segregation of waste alone can save the City. “I wish to see the waste segregation programme is implemented successfully in Bangalore,” he said.

He said he had called a meeting of NGOs and other voluntary organisations involved in solid waste management at the BBMP head office on Saturday at 4 pm with, to chalk out a strategy to implement segregation of garbage at source.

He said commercial establishments and households that did not separate waste should be punished harshly. “Many businesses generating garbage in bulk are not managing their waste properly. Stringent action should be initiated against them. The debris mafia should be also dealt with severely,” Siddaiah said.