The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : BMP may collect inorganic waste separately

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Oct 16, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

BMP may collect inorganic waste separately

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, OCT. 15. From next May, Bangaloreans may have to segregate inorganic material from domestic waste before handing it over to the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) workers in charge of garbage collection. The BMP Commissioner, K. Jyothiramalingam, indicated this at a programme on Friday to release a report on solid waste management in Bangalore, prepared by the BMP, Bangalore Agenda Task Force, and the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) — Waste Wise Trust, Swabhimana and Agastya.

New tenders

He said the process of inviting new tenders for waste collection would commence in a month of two. The tender conditions could be changed to collect only garbage from which inorganic waste was separated. He agreed to a suggestion that inorganic waste, including plastics, should be collected separately — once or twice a week — as is being done in Karwar in Uttara Kannada.

The participants, who represented residents' welfare associations and NGOs, pointed out that the previous attempts of the BMP for segregation of inorganic material from domestic waste at source had failed as the transporters ended up mixing them after collection.

When the authorities said the people needed to be educated on segregation, Almitra Patel, an expert in solid waste management, said the BMP should take the blame for its failure to do so. The BMP should ensure that its officials did not mix the waste segregated by the people, she added.

Garbage dumping

The Secretary, Urban Development, Ravikumar, expressed concern that garbage was being dumped in unauthorised places on the outskirts of the city. Asserting that segregation at source and proper handling were needed, he sought to know how the authorities could ensure the success of the segregation plan.

The Mayor, P.R. Ramesh, suggested that a fine be imposed on contractors who collected garbage from which inorganic waste was not removed. Every individual should be made accountable, he said. He regretted that the BMP officials were not clearing debris properly.

Ms. Patel said composting solid waste was the best way out as farmers needed organic manure. But the representatives of the compost-making units pointed out that there was no demand for their product.

Ms. Patel regretted that a wall had been built around a 10-acre site meant for dumping debris at Hennur. As a result, vehicles could not enter the site to dump debris. She urged the BMP to look into the problem.

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