The Times of India            09.11.2010

`Waste segregation at source must'

Robert Haley, recycling program manager, Department of the environment, and Tamar Hurwitz, environmental education manager, from City of County of San Francisco, give their views on waste management. Excerpts

What are your observations of the city?

Compared to any city in United States, Bangalore has much of green cover, open space. What has impressed us most is Bangalore's weather, maybe, because we come from a place that is known for irregular weather pattern.

What are the best practices here which you think must be replicated in your city?

By tradition, Indians have an eco-friendly lifestyle. Steel plates, leaf plates and clay cups used here are re-usable. Even when they are thrown out (leaf plates), they get decomposed easily. Contrast to this, what we use in US, are all use-and-throw materials, which increase the amount of garbage that we produce. But that much of waste can be saved here, by using reusable materials. We wish to implement the same in US.

What could be your suggestion to BBMP?

To begin with, segregation at source must be made mandatory. When we started the initiative in late 1980s, there was not much of awareness among the public. But once the system came into place, everyone followed it. In western countries, government will not have much of a role to play in case of private public partnership but only act as facilitator. Public pay the usage charges directly to the company that takes away the garbage and not to the local self-government. We only fix the rates. The usage fee must be made lucrative and encouraging. For example, we do not take charges for collecting recyclable and compostable waste, but only for that which is thrown as trash. Such initiatives can be implemented in Bangalore too.