Managing waste in haste

It’s a common sight especially in empty sites of new areas, where no construction has begun. People residing near these sites claim that garbage breeds mosquitos and the smell is a major cause of disdain. Dogs and cattle have easy access to garbage and drag it onto the road further, thereby littering the locality. Metrolife asks residents experiencing this issue about how they avoid the open site next to their house from turning into a temporary garbage dump.

Vishakha, a resident of Jai Bharath Nagar near Cox Town says, “Initially, an empty site used to be present right opposite to my place where people would dump stuff. That space got converted to a parking lot but people continue to use it as a garbage dump. The landlord usually reprimands those who dump garbage in front of the building but people come during the night in cars and drop large polythene bags. It is awful when it rains as a black discharge from the garbage is a common sight and the stench is just unbearable.”

The reason for the dumping is the lack of dustbins. Bopanna, a media executive, says, “In areas where door to door garbage collection is not working, BBMP should at least issue dustbins. This problem is prevalent largely in developing areas where there is still a lot of open space.”

Providing a rather innovative solution is Riaz, a professional who says, “We need to treat waste not as a problem but as an opportunity. We could establish an industry on waste management. All we need to do is commercialise waste management and treatment and all our problems will take a backseat.”

There are others like Mohammad Inam, a BCA student, who says that door to door garbage collection is a great initiative by the government. “It is also the responsibility of the site owners to get the site cleaned once in a while,” he adds. People residing next to open sites also say that they make it a point get the weeds cleared and make sure that the empty site is kept clean.

On being asked how the problem could be tackled, the BBMP officials say, “In all areas, the garbage is collected through push carts. If the push carts don’t come on a particular day, the residents can book a complaint by calling the BBMP Control Room. The complaint will be forwarded to the assistant executive engineer of the area. However, no dustbins will be issued as the idea is to make the City dustbin free.”