Karnataka - Mangalore   

A new scheme for waste segregation in Mangalore

MANGALORE: The sight of organic waste and plastics overflowing out of garbage bins and the fetid smell that sends passers by scurrying past holding their noses has become quite common for Mangaloreans. With the rains, the garbage overflow and stink just get worse.

This unpleasant situation might change if the scheme of the Mangalore City Corporation (MCC) to introduce door-to-door collection of waste takes off.

As part of a scheme envisaged under the Nirmala Nagara Yojana, the MCC plans to reduce the number of open dustbins in the city from the present 1,400 to 400.

The plan is to deposit the garbage collected from every household into covered metal containers. Specially designed trucks will collect the waste from these containers. If this initiative succeeds, the sight of overflowing dustbins could become a scene unknown to “Mangalore-tomorrow”, as a prominent hoarding says.

Door-to-door collection of wastes is something that has been on the anvil for a long time now. In some areas, citizens had taken the initiative to arrange for it through “nairmalya samithis.” The samithis collected waste from every household and deposited it in dustbins placed on the main road from where the corporation lorry picked up the waste. But the MCC was not involved in this process.

On June 12 this year, the Corporation Commissioner issued an order stating 40 per cent houses in the city are to be brought under the system of door-to-door waste collection within three months.

In 46 out of the 60 corporation wards, contracts were given out for total sanitation involving primary and secondary collection of waste. In these wards, primary collection (where waste is collected from households) and secondary collection (where garbage is lifted from containers installed at different points in the city) has been outsourced to private contactors. In the remaining 14 wards, private contractors will handle only the primary collection, but the corporation will handle all other sanitary work.

Door-to-door collection of waste began in certain areas of the city including Kankanady, Nehru Maidan and Lady Hill, about a week ago, Padmanabh, Assistant Health Officer, Mangalore City Corporation told The Hindu.

In spite of contractors having been identified, technical problems and bureaucratic hassles seem to be slowing down the process, said Dinesh Pai, a social activist.

Technical problems relate to the unsuitability of the trucks provided for the secondary collection, according to MCC officials. These sophisticated trucks are fitted with hydraulic handles that can lift containers mechanically without any manual intervention. But the problem is that these containers need to be placed 12 inches above the ground to be lifted. So, there is a need to build platforms on which these containers can be placed. Mr. Padmanabh said 40 of the 120 platforms required have been constructed. All the platforms will be ready within a month, he said.

Mr. Pai foresees problems as the trucks to be employed for secondary collection are not made for Mangalore roads, most of which are just 16 or 17 feet wide, whereas the hydraulic arms of the truck need at least 22 feet. The trucks could end up blocking the roads, causing traffic problems. There have been no trials of running the truck within city limits, Mr. Pai points out.

When contacted, an MCC official confessed: “These vehicles are not suitable for local conditions. Several delays have been caused because of this.”

The MCC has fixed a fee of Rs. 20 for every household to collect the waste, something that has annoyed many citizens groups. Says Hanumanth Kamath of the Nagarika Hitharakshana Samithi: “We pay taxes to the Corporation. Why pay for this service separately? Under this scheme, the residents pay the contractor, and the corporation also pays the contractor. So it seems to be designed, keeping in mind the interests of the contractors.”

Ideally, garbage should be segregated before it is collected from households. As Ms. Vineetha, who was the president of the “nairmalya samithigala Okkoota” until recently, points out, most citizens are unwilling to take this responsibility. “Even requests to wrap hazardous wastes like broken bulbs, used blades and glass pieces in thick cardboard are not heeded to,” she says.

Although some nairmalya samithis segregate waste into bio-degradable and hazardous, at most places all the waste is just taken together and thrown in a dumping yard at Vamanjoor, says Ms. Vineetha. As part of a Karnataka Urban Development and Coastal Environment Management Project, a compost plant, and a sanitary landfill site are under construction in Vamanjoor.

Mr. Pai says, the authorities are yet to decide on whetheror not to outsource the operation of the compost plant. Until these decisions are taken, and the landfill site and compost plant become operational, there is little point in segregating garbage at the primary level, he said.

There is no point in segregating waste at the household level when all waste is finally dumped together, he added.

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