The Times of India    28.08.2012

Waste pickers help out BBMP

BANGALORE: They have regular jobs but that doesn't keep them from taking on the city's muck. For a programme conducted and monitored by the Bangalore City Connect Foundation (BCCF), many NGOs and citizens came out to clean up their neighbourhoods and reduce the BBMP's burden. TOI travelled with a team to the segregating grounds.Over 100 solid waste management workers brought in by non-profit organizations on Monday segregated dry and wet waste at centres in Koramangala, Ejipura, HSR Layout, Bellandur, JC Road, RT Nagar, Ulsoor, Shivajinagar and many other pockets of the city.

"They have been mandated to pick up garbage strewn on the roads around these areas, earmarked as black spots, and bring it all to a waste collection centre for segregation. Dry waste, which can be recycled, will be sent to a private firm for further processing. Wet waste is sent to BBMP. Our intention is to reduce the load on BBMP," said Nalini Shekar, member of Hasiru Dala.

These workers have been given gloves, jackets and masks as protective gear. While the NGOs pay them Rs 300 per day for their labour, the private company buys dry waste from them for Rs3 per kg.A dumping yard behind a BBMP parking lot, near Forum Mall in Koramangala, is the prime segregating ground for waste picked up from Koramangala, Adugodi and surrounding areas. A couple of streets in Ulsoor, Ejipura and Shivajinagar were also cleaned by these waste pickers.

"We have picked up 126kg of waste and segregated it into dry and wet waste. The dry waste is weighed at a private firm which takes all the recyclable items, and the waste pickers are paid according to the weight," Bosco Anthony, coordinator for Shivajinagar and Ulsoor, told TOI.In Koramangala, BBMP sent a few compactors to pick up wet waste after segregation and the dry waste was sent to private companies which would help NGOs recycle most of it. BBMP helped BCCF run the show by transporting it. Announcements were made in Shivajinagar that BBMP would fumigate the areas in the evening.