World Environment Day: Even after Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had issued solid waste management bylaws four years ago, mandating waste segregation, Bengaluru still finds it difficult to manage waste, especially segregation at source. NGO Hasiru Dala founder Nalini Shekar said proper implementation of the bylaws would “fix all the issues”. "This would enable decentralisation of waste management and integration of waste pickers in the city," she added. The "two bin, one bag" waste segregation system, which the Karnataka High Court mandated in 2017, is still important.
Founder of the HSR Citizen Forum and member of the Solid Waste Management Round Table, Dr Shanthi Tummala, highlighted how the system involves three categories: wet waste, dry waste and domestic hazardous waste.
"Collection varies by area. Some areas have separate trucks for dry waste collected twice a week, while others have combined collection for all three types of waste. There are also areas with dry waste collection twice a week, but no wet waste collection on those days,” Shanthi said.
The entire mechanism suffers a setback as the BBMP often delays payments to the critical workers such as auto tippers and pourakarmikas, who collect mixed waste from households.
"These agencies pick up waste illegally from commercial establishments as well. While pourakarmikas are employed to sweep the streets, many also pick up waste from households for small fees such as Rs 200," said Sneha Nandihal of I Change Indiranagar.
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She also pointed to the poor enforcement of waste segregation rules and penalising offenders, with citizens' apathy and lack of awareness contributing to the issue.
Waste Collection Mechanism
Dry waste is gathered and sent to dry waste collecting centres, while wet waste is sent to specific processing centres.
Dhananjay, a supervisor at the Koramangala’s ward 145 wet waste processing centre, informed that they will deploy 19 vehicles to collect waste from about 500 houses. "Wet waste undergoes segregation and is transported to Solid Waste Organic (SWO) plants like KCDC and Chikkanagamangala. These plants convert wet waste into fertilisers, and the residue is redirected to cement factories and plants in Bidadi," he said.
Talking about the safety hazards, a BBMP worker from ward number 86 in Marathahalli said, “While we engage ourselves in waste segregation, we get glass pieces, needles and other hazardous materials that could cut and infect us.”
Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Ltd (BSWML), responsible for waste collection and disposal, said segregation levels have not dropped, but acknowledged it did not improve as well.