The Deccan Chronicle 10.11.2010
Segregate at source, keep them separateMembers of the Solid Waste Management Round Table demonstrated how all wet waste, which includes the food we throw away in our own homes, can be composted and how we try not only to segregate the dry waste but also further separate the paper, plastic, glass, metal and e-waste, to a two-member delegation from San Francisco recently.
Present were Robert Haley, recycling pogramme manager, department of environment in the city and county of San Fransisco and Tamar Hurwitz, environmental education manager of the San Francisco city council.
If the BBMP wants to introduce a user fee it needs to first inform the people that they must segregate their waste into dry and wet at source and arrange for picking up each kind of garbage separately. The wet garbage can be composted or converted into biogas locally.
This will save lots of fuel that is currently being used to transport the huge amounts of garbage to the landfills. We from the Solid Waste Management Round Table have been lobbying for each ward to be awarded a different contract for waste collection and recycling.
If every ward has a dry waste collection centre people will also be able to make money from the plastic and paper that they hand over to it, leading to a win-win situation for both BBMP and Bengalureans.
(The writer is member, Solid Waste Management Round Table)
