Straight to the landfills: Bengaluru's waste management takes a hit amidst pandemic

Dry waste collection, which had injected a degree of smartness in the city’s otherwise rudimentary solid waste management, is now in deep trouble. Struggling to recover from lockdown crackdowns, waste recycling units have shut again. Plastic, both high and low value, now go straight to the landfills.

Seen all across the city, the roadside garbage dumps are just a manifestation of a problem that runs much deeper. If Covid-19 fears have left the primary collection process from the households in disarray, most Dry Waste Collection Centres (DWCCs) have run short of space. Is there any way out?

Indiscriminate dumping of used masks and gloves has added another dangerous dimension to the dry waste collection process. Sorting the material at DWCCs, waste sorters have urged residents not to treat the masks and gloves as dry waste, but as hazardous stuff that had to be treated separately. It is their lives at stake.

Over two dozen waste pickers have already tested positive for Covid-19 in recent days, triggering panic. The protective gear provided by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has not gone beyond gloves and masks. The masks are re-used for days, risking exposure to the virus.

Transporting low-value plastic

Frequent lockdowns have also hit the transportation of low-value plastic waste to cement kilns. “For high-value (recyclable) plastic, there is no inter-state movement. Those without storage space are forced to let the waste head to landfills. The garbage volumes to landfills have gone up substantially,” informs Sandya Natarajan from the Solid Waste Management Round Table (SWMRT).

The informal market for plastic waste is in crisis. Over 50% of the scrap dealers have shut shop. Another factor is the high cost of transporting the material to cement kilns located far outside the city. “Who will bear the cost? Yes, municipalities should bear it, but this is not entirely fair. What about the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)?” she wonders.

Brands and EPR

Simply put, EPR implies the FMCG companies, the big brands that are the biggest producers of plastic waste through multi-layered packaging, should find a way to bear the transportation cost. A SWMRT study (brand audit) in 2017-18 had clearly shown that the brands accounted for 60-70% of the plastic waste that cannot be recycled.

Despite clear evidence, the government has not mandated that the industries pay. The FMCG firms too have not voluntarily come forward to even share the load.

To ensure that the informal recycling centres reopened with all safety precautions, the Hasiru Dala collective had distributed kits to over 200 units in Nayandahalli. “Each sanitation kit had four masks, seven gloves and 10 litres of sanitisers, with a sling bag to keep them all safely,” says Nalini Shekhar from the Dala.

Educating workers

Posters with detailed do’s and don’ts were also pasted at all the units. “In all, more than 2,000 workers benefited from the exercise.” Besides, DWCC workers were also provided sanitisers and masks. Efforts are also on to raise money to provide them hardship payment, and get the material disinfected for their safety.

DWCCs were lined up for renovation and upgrade by the BBMP in December 2019. Waste workers from these centres had complained of poor ventilation and lighting, sanitary connections and space constraints. The Palike had announced that it had developed a standardised layout for the centres with capacities for manual and semi-mechanised sorting of dry waste.

DWCCs in trouble

The pandemic and the lockdowns that followed made the condition worse, and all plans were put on hold. As Sandya points out, many centres had been knocked down, some converted to sports facilities. In December, the Palike records showed there were 143 DWCCs in the city, 120 of them in dire need of renovation.

An audit by the Palike had found that as many as 23 DWCCs were unfit and their operations had to be shifted to alternative sites. Land had to be identified. Of the 198 wards, 55 had no collection centres and the Palike had to find the land required.

In Bommanahalli, a corporator had pulled down three DWCCs to build a stadium, recalls N S Ramakanth, a founder of the SWMRT. “Whatever we have are also being destroyed. These centres should be the Palike’s top priority,” he says.

Use washable masks

To tide over the rampant dumping of used masks in dry waste, he offers a solution: “Everyone should stop using disposable masks and start wearing the washable ones. It is very dangerous for the workers when people treat infected masks as part of dry waste.”

The root of the problem, he feels, is the poor enforcement of the plastic ban. “If the ban had been strictly implemented, we wouldn’t be facing this issue. Karnataka was among the first to ban plastic, but enforcement faltered. The Palike now has no choice but really enforce the rules.”

Bulk generators, including hotels and other commercial establishments, have found ways to bypass the ban. “They are controlled by the mafia. They go to private vendors who are not empanelled. Most of these vendors are relatives of elected representatives,” notes Ramakanth. The pandemic has clearly exposed the consequences of these violations, forcing the entire city to suffer.