Cleaning the mess everyday

Raising Concerns

Though it may be too soon to pass a judgment, Bangaloreans are already beginning to see the loopholes in the home-based waste segregation programme that has been introduced in the City. It is good to see that people are becoming aware of the various kinds of wastes — wet, dry, e-waste and biomedical.

But while the intention behind the drive is genuine, the follow-up mechanism is not as efficient.

Many areas are facing the issue of pourakarmikas not showing up to collect the waste, which residents are painstakingly segregating as per the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) orders.

“After coming on October 1 to inform the neighbourhood about the new rules of
waste segregation, the garbage collectors have not shown up. We are all willing to implement the new rules. When citizens can follow them, why can’t the BBMP?” asks Rahul N, a resident of Kamanahalli.

The urgency of the issue lies in the fact that his home, like many others’, are beginning to smell as bad as the garbage carts, meant to pick up the trash. “We were promised that the wet waste would be collected on a daily basis. Wet waste gives off a foul smell and attracts a lot of insects even if left for a day. This rule should not have been implemented at all, if the BBMP is not capable of collecting the wet waste daily,” he adds.

The same woes resound from residents of Maratahalli, Cox Town (Jeevanahalli) and Netaji Road (Fraser Town) among other areas, who have been piling up the garbage at their home with the hope that it will be collected — but with no relief.

There are also people who find the idea of directly putting wet waste from a bin into the pourakarmika’s pushcart disgusting.

“It would have been better if the wet waste was promptly picked up everyday in a packet and I never had to see it again. Washing the sticky garbage bin is nauseating and unhealthy. I might just be willing to get my hands dirty. But what about the rest who find it below their dignity to do it?” asks Shaily Daga, a student in the City.

On its website, the BBMP claims to sell the wet waste to farmers who will compost it and make it into a usable form. But a lot of the City dwellers doubt the implementation.

“We don’t know if those who pick up our trash dispose of in a proper manner or just dump it on the road, resulting in mosquito breeding and numerous diseases associated with it. Also by piling up garbage inside our homes, we are only inviting a multitude of hygiene-related problems,” notes Supreet Shetty, a student. However, on a positive note, not everyone is of the same opinion. There are some homemakers who feel that the issue of hygiene is quite unnecessary.

“You are throwing the dry waste into its respective bin and the wet waste into its own. It’s only when you keep one rubbish bin for all waste and then segregate it that problems begin to arise,” notes Prathibha R, a homemaker.

“The e-waste and dry waste can be stored in cloth or polythene bags and left in the utility area of the house until collection. Two bins can be kept for wet and
biomedical waste respectively. You don’t even need to keep four big bins in the house as people assume,” she adds.