<p>Paper cups, used packets, plastic bottles etc accumulate to form a large mass of solid waste that the City has to deal with everyday. On the eve of ‘World Environment Day’, Metrolife takes a look at what is being done in the field of waste management and what more is required.<br /><br /> Currently, Bangalore does not have enough space for the waste being generated. “The BBMP does not segregate waste and disposes all of it. Only 10 per cent of waste is non-recyclable and should be disposed,” says Srilatha, who manages a recycling site in Koramangala, run by an NGO for the BBMP. <br /><br /> Segregation of waste at the source is an important part of waste management. “Ideally, every location generating waste should segregate it. An apartment producing organic waste can turn it into compost. And paper, plastic, metal and glass can be collected and sent for recycling,” says Wilma Rodrigues, founder, Sahaas, which deals with waste management. “The problem is from the authorities’ side too because they don’t enforce laws. If it’s made mandatory for the people to dispose waste after segregation, then only will they do it,” she adds. <br /><br /> Another important step is composting of the wet waste (kitchen waste). “I have been composting for the past three years and some of my neighbours have also got involved in it,” says Lalithamba from Akruthi Siverline, HSR Layout. But despite people’s interest in the activity, the acceptability of composting is very slow. <br /><br /> “People don’t realise that it is as simple as any day-to-day activity if the waste is segregated properly,” says Pinky Chandran from Radio Active, the community radio for Jain College. <br /><br />So what happens to this segregated waste after it is sent? “Dry waste like paper, plastic and metal goes through secondary segregation and is sent to the scrap dealers and recycled. The wet waste is processed in a machine and turned into compost in about 30 days. This is then sold in the market,” says Srilatha. <br /><br />Organisations, apartments and individuals are taking a cue from this and getting serious about the issue. “For the past few months, we have started collecting dry waste in our apartment. Even the housemaids have been trained to do so,” says Lalithamba. <br /><br /> “We plan to penalise the residents, who don’t segregate their waste, by not collecting their garbage,” says Subodh Sankar from Sobha Dahlia. “Every fortnight, we dispose all the e-waste including cellphones, batteries, cartridges, laptops, calculators, CDs etc. <br />These are sent to an NGO which recycles e-waste,” says Sonny Kunnakkat from Applied Materials. <br /><br />But finally, the effort must come from each individual. “We spend so much time generating waste but it requires just a fraction of that time to use the right bin to throw the garbage in,” says Wilma. </p>
<p>Paper cups, used packets, plastic bottles etc accumulate to form a large mass of solid waste that the City has to deal with everyday. On the eve of ‘World Environment Day’, Metrolife takes a look at what is being done in the field of waste management and what more is required.<br /><br /> Currently, Bangalore does not have enough space for the waste being generated. “The BBMP does not segregate waste and disposes all of it. Only 10 per cent of waste is non-recyclable and should be disposed,” says Srilatha, who manages a recycling site in Koramangala, run by an NGO for the BBMP. <br /><br /> Segregation of waste at the source is an important part of waste management. “Ideally, every location generating waste should segregate it. An apartment producing organic waste can turn it into compost. And paper, plastic, metal and glass can be collected and sent for recycling,” says Wilma Rodrigues, founder, Sahaas, which deals with waste management. “The problem is from the authorities’ side too because they don’t enforce laws. If it’s made mandatory for the people to dispose waste after segregation, then only will they do it,” she adds. <br /><br /> Another important step is composting of the wet waste (kitchen waste). “I have been composting for the past three years and some of my neighbours have also got involved in it,” says Lalithamba from Akruthi Siverline, HSR Layout. But despite people’s interest in the activity, the acceptability of composting is very slow. <br /><br /> “People don’t realise that it is as simple as any day-to-day activity if the waste is segregated properly,” says Pinky Chandran from Radio Active, the community radio for Jain College. <br /><br />So what happens to this segregated waste after it is sent? “Dry waste like paper, plastic and metal goes through secondary segregation and is sent to the scrap dealers and recycled. The wet waste is processed in a machine and turned into compost in about 30 days. This is then sold in the market,” says Srilatha. <br /><br />Organisations, apartments and individuals are taking a cue from this and getting serious about the issue. “For the past few months, we have started collecting dry waste in our apartment. Even the housemaids have been trained to do so,” says Lalithamba. <br /><br /> “We plan to penalise the residents, who don’t segregate their waste, by not collecting their garbage,” says Subodh Sankar from Sobha Dahlia. “Every fortnight, we dispose all the e-waste including cellphones, batteries, cartridges, laptops, calculators, CDs etc. <br />These are sent to an NGO which recycles e-waste,” says Sonny Kunnakkat from Applied Materials. <br /><br />But finally, the effort must come from each individual. “We spend so much time generating waste but it requires just a fraction of that time to use the right bin to throw the garbage in,” says Wilma. </p>
