Was watching SatyamevaJayate on TV the other day and as usual there was loads of emotions and the story was about garbage collectors or 'poura-karmikas' in BBMP terms..where they went around explaning their position and it was interesting indeed.
They on a everyday basis handle hazardous waste insluding diapers and other other harmful garbage.
So the current situation is:
- The Poura Karmikas comes to every home every morning to collect garbage either in push carts or small autos
- This is taken to a local collection centre
- The compactor comes there and they transfer the garbage into that..almost making a mess of the process as in the picture above
- In all this process the garbage is loaded and unloaded multiple times
On the outset this is the most inefficient way of handling garbage. But why do we still do this?
It provides employment to many? many contractors are involved?
But are the dissadvatages outweigh the purpose? I would say yes!
Guess most will agree that wWe should totally get away from the current mechanism and have very few exchanges of garbage. About how can that be done, I would think we can get to once a week collection process and automate the process as much as possible.
Please share thoughts on the challenges here and your thoughts on how it can be done!
Forward this Blog entry
Comments
Bangalore has more garbage generation then Mumbai / Delhi
As Srinidhi brought out this observation, how other cities are taking this challenge???
Now every one is talking of false claim of BBMP & Garbage contractors that Bangalore generates more garbage then Mumba & Delhi.
On the same line, how are the other METROs in India are handling this issue ???
Even cities like Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Pune & calcutta, how r they handling this garbage issue.
Collecting from the Apartments, localities and then transporting them, segregating and land fills.
Managlore : Solid Waste Managment case study
When Mangalorecity in Karnataka can show how they can manage the waste, why Administratrion in Bangalore is lacking will to do this ???
http://www.siudmysore.gov.in/pdf/Documentation.pdf
Primary collection process and secoundary storage Closed Containers are the key in this, which I was refering as Garbage bins, in Bangaloe no where we find them, easily u can spot in Pune, Mumbai.
Secoundary storage containers garbage are easily transorted to Tracks.
Also see daily soil top cover of 30CM provided at Disposal for compost.
I think, their is lack of will in Bangalore to tackle the issue, as the Bangalore Mindset is we should have every thing simple like A/C system giving comfort.
BBMP 'owns' bangalore waste?
way back in 2010..this was on the offing..
A UK-based company proposed to set up a 65mw power-generating unit using the garbage generated in the city, but the BBMP was not convinced with the overall idea.
The BBMP needs to provide 6 to 10 acres of land for setting up the plant, which will cost about `3,000 crore. We will give back the city a greener, more peaceful and healthier environment as the plant doesn't emit any smell nor create noise. ..
more here
The then commisioners contention was that he wanted BBMP to make money by selling waste!
Its a different question if BBMP really 'owns' bangalore waste..afterall they were helping get rid of waste!!
Guess its time to try that plant now..the current govt seems to be doing atleast somethings right!
mangaluru is awesome!
@Sanjeev
Thanks for the link on the amazing work done in Mangalore..as you mention its very easily replicable in 3-4 places in bangalore..looks like there is no will yet!
About garbage cans..every house in localities with wider roads like Jayanagar/Indiranagar can have these cans in every house and the garbage can be collected once a week instead of every day..where it goes straight into the compactor
So it will avoid Poura karmikas handling thrash in their hands..
We need to figure out how it will work in narrow gullies where compactor cannot come into..perhaps waste disposal in cities with narrow lanes in europe can teach us how!
garbage ever?
The picture in fact makes me ask the question do they clear garbage ever? More than garbage clearers looks like the very folks tasked with clearing garbage are garbage generators.
should they clear at all?
the other more pertinent question is..should they clear our garbage at all? we Indians are so used to getting jobs done for us that we take them for granted!
why should anybody put their hands through dirty rotten diapers..just because they are expected to?
This is a case of manual scavenging which is banned in India and needs to be abolished totally!
@srinidhi
>> we Indians are so used to getting jobs done for us that we take >> them for granted!
It is not about Indians used to getting jobs done for us. See, the thing is that world over every service including garbage collection & disposal, janitorial services in hotels and public places are done by those people (semi skilled labor) who provide those services. And, those services are taken for granted since they work almost flawlessly in those countries. The problem in India is that a system hasn not been visualized, established and operationalized for automated/semi-automated way of garbage collection and final disposal.
If you really think of it from a different perspective many birds can be killed with one stone if a visionary thinks about the bigger picture
1) Generation of massive employment for building and maintaining garbage collection trucks (Tata, Leyland, Volvo and other players can manufacture these trucks indigenously within India), garbage bins and garbage carts.
2) Generation of massive employment because of the workforce needed on a massive scale to clear garbage in all the cities and towns.
3) Solid waste treatment plants can be setup that could use garbage to generate electricity. This could tackle the dual problem of getting rid of the waste and at the same time generating electricity.
The rest of the developed world has an established working system to clear garbage and keep the surroundings clean. Is that such a difficult task to establish that system and keep it operational in India? I don't get it. People will leave no stone unturned to have a plush house with Italian marble etc. but not be willing to spend 10 or 20 Rs per month for waste removal and will not think twice about throwing it on the street as many may have witnessed. So, bottom line is i see a systemic failure in the corporations establishing a proper operational system; lack of enforcement so make sure that contractors operating the system as well as people using the system are following it.
>>why should anybody put their hands through dirty rotten >>diapers..just because they are expected to?
No garbage collector should be expected to put their hands through rotten diaper or other trash. The corporation/garbade disposal contractor is expected to provide them with proper tools and the workers are expected to use those tools to do their job of garbage collection and disposal. Sadly the provision of correct tools is lacking.
BBMP seems to have grandoise plans on paper - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Get-set-to-cull-out-garbage-at-home-in-Bangalore/articleshow/16259546.cms not sure how much has actually been implemented and functional on the streets.
We need to invest on Waste To
We need to invest on Waste To Power Plants and Bio Methane plants. No point in transporting waste to landfills.
No garbage disposal at Mandur..
Its been a time bomb ticking..now KPSCB has recomended closure of the Mandur landfil!
So its hightime we have a lasting solution for the garbage problem.
The solutions discussed above are the immediate need for Bangalore. Its not about how much money it makes for the BBMP..but how well it solves this eternal garbage solution.
The current governament seems to be atleast putting effort on the right things..it would be good if they did this and rid the city of this problem!
Garbage mess: ‘why not rope in firms?’ CREDAI
Why can’t we rope in private companies, as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), to help with solid waste management?
A Division Bench of Karnataka High Court, comprising Justice N. Kumar and Justice B.V. Nagarathna, posed this question to BBMP Commissioner M. Lakshminarayana while hearing a few PIL petitions.
Pointing out that when firms have come forward to maintain parks as part of their CSR, the Bench said that there should not be any difficulty to render a helping hand in solid waste management as they are a part of the city.
When told that firms can give monetary support, the Bench said more than money it is their human resource and experience in management that will help.
Similarly, the Bench said that CREDAI, which represents builders and developers, would be able to help in collection and disposal of debris by engaging a BBMP empanelled vendor having expertise in such service.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/garbage-mess-why-not-rope-in-firms/article6292689.ece
Why doesn't Bengaluru have garbage bins? its must for collection
Though the bins were removed in the year 2000, people still think of the area as a place to dump garbage. The look and feel of the area just adds to this assumption.
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/why-doesn-t-bengaluru-have-garbage-bins
So bins can help in collecting garbage in nonsegregated manner but without that city will have littered garbage all places.
Better to have to bins for Wet waste and dry waste in very corner of the street ie 500 meter to 750 meter dist.
Transit points in each ward are littered with garbage
An activist from The Ugly Indian, an NGO which clears out black spots in the city, said in many areas waste-collectors turned up late in the morning, by which time most of the residents would have left for work and thus end up dumping their waste at the street corner. The BBMP had also considered re-installing dustbins in 2012. However, the proposal was dropped later.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/bbmp-uncovers-citys-dirty-secret/article6288719.ece
CA sites can be used for garbage segregation: Jagadish Shettar
BDA to give at least five CA sites to the BBMP in the layouts that the authority would be developing. The BBMP could set up waste management plants in those CA sites to manage waste generated by residents of these layouts.
A communiqué stated that Mr. Shettar assured the BBMP that he would direct the Revenue Department to allot government land to the BBMP within the next 10 days. BBMP would use lands at Kannahalli, Seegehalli and Anekal to set up state-of-the-art decentralised waste processing units.
He directed the civic body to change its waste management strategy and give impetus to decentralised waste processing. The waste processing centres could be set up in various locations to reduce environmental impact and regulate the movement of garbage trucks.
Mr. Shettar suggested the setting up of waste processing centres of 300-tonne capacity in all Assembly constituencies in the city to help manage the waste at the constituency level for another decade. The BBMP had been directed to prepare a ward-wise city sanitation plan for decentralised waste management for the next decade. The All India Institute of Local Self Government is preparing plans for two wards as a pilot project, which would be later replicated in all wards, the release added.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/ca-sites-can-be-used-for-garbage-segregation-jagadish-shettar/article4094519.ece
This was during Nov'2012. Looks like either BBM or BDA or Revenue Dept done their work in decentralizing the waste processing in last 18 months.
I saw, Yesterday high court suggested to use CA site for the same.
In next two months, Garbage issue will back fire due to continued festivals till Dasara. Added to this, we did not get clear sun for last one month with cloudy weather, now rains coming in at last. Waste will make this city as Waste city for next two months as concerned people are busy responsibly in making money in the name of Garbage city.
Decentralised Solid Waste Managment study Viajayanagar area
ATREE during MAy 2005 for Sahakaranagar
http://www.lumes.lu.se/database/alumni/03.04/theses/mull_jonathan.pdf
Nov'2007
http://jnnurm.nic.in/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/CPF_Decentralised_Solid_Waste_Management.pdf
Waste Characterization study Feb-Mar'2014
http://grasshopperfiles.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/waste-characterization-study-bangalore.pdf
some more details
Digging into Bangalore’s Waste – Waste Characterization Study 2014
http://grasshopperfiles.wordpress.com/2014/04/23/digging-into-bangalores-waste-waste-characterization-study-2014/
BBMP sets its sights on Mavallipura
It has sought permission from KSPCB to reopen the landfill
Scrambling for options ahead of the closure of the landfill at Mandur by December 1, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has proposed reopening the Mavallipura landfill, near Yelahanka.
A proposal in this regard has been sent to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), sources in the BBMP said.
The KSPCB had directed the BBMP to close down the Mavallipura landfill after local communities protested against the improper processing of waste that led to contamination of groundwater sources. The board issued a closure notice in July 2012.
BBMP sources said the civic body was proposing to take up only composting at the landfill. “We hope the KSPCB gives us the green signal to reopen the landfill. Initially, we will send only 300 tonnes of segregated wet waste to be converted to compost. We have identified the hotels and kalyan mantaps and the waste from there will be sent to Mavallipura,” the sources added.
Of the 4,000 tonnes of waste generated in the city, wet waste from hotels and kalyan mantaps comprises around 1,025 tonnes. While 250 tonnes of wet waste will be processed at a unit being set up at Doddaballapur, the remaining will be processed in Mavallipura.
Residents firm
Meanwhile, Mavallipura resident B. Srinivas, who is also a member of the Dalit Sangharsh Samiti, Bangalore district committee, said the residents would not, at any cost, allow the BBMP to dump fresh waste at the landfill. The residents, he said, would cooperate with the BBMP only if the accumulated waste was processed.
“After the landfill was closed, the BBMP has not fulfilled any assurance that it made. That apart, the accumulated waste has not been processed at all nor has leachate been treated. After every spell of rain, leachate from the landfill flows into water bodies,” he pointed out. He added that a case pertaining to Mavallipura landfill was being heard in the High Court of Karnataka.
http://www.thehindu.com/n...
Qty generated by big apartment complexes, Hostel, Kalyana Mantapa can be processed in the local ward level if BBMP has will.
http://bangalore.citizenm...
http://bangalore.citizenm...
What is the latest status on these plants? BBMP's website seems to be give no information whatsoever!
The plan on MCC's website
The plan on MCC's website looks cool but I suppose the ground reality is different.
Will 2 bins per locality keep garbage away?
Failing to find a permanent solution to around 8,000 black spots in the city, the BBMP will shortly install two bins in each ward to facilitate garbage disposal
In three years, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has not been unable to find a permanent solution to garbage lying scattered all around the city. Not able to bear the eyesore anymore, citizens of the garden city have suggested that the bin culture be brought back. Now, the civic body has decided to reintroduce bins for garbage collection. If everything goes as per plan, BBMP will soon place bins in each black spot (garbage dump) in the city, and hope to curb the menace.
Nearly 8,000 such garbage black spots have been identified across the city. Most of these are cleaned every day, only to have trash dumped again by people almost immediately. These spots are ones that had dustbins in the past. Bengaluru was made free of bins in the year 2000 when the civic body introduced door-to-door garbage collection. But still, there are complaints that garbage is not collected regularly from each house, forcing people to dump garbage in the open.
While the collection system was going along fine and keeping the city by and large clear of garbage, came the Mandur issue. It was the year 2012 when Mandur villages started protesting against garbage being dumped in their backyard. BBMP contractors did not lift garbage in the city because the corporation did not have a solution to the protests.
Not having an alternative ground to dump the city's garbage, the BBMP could not force the contractors to lift garbage. In all these years, the civic body has failed to find a permanent solution to the garbage menace. So much so that Bengaluru's garbage woes even got reported in the international media with the civic administration bombarded for its inability to provide a solution. The then-BJP government specially appointed IAS officer Darpan Jain to tackle the garbage menace. It is Jain who now suggests that the good old system of garbage bins be brought back.
It is going by this proposal that BBMP will place bins - not one but two; one for wet and the other for dry waste - for people to put garbage in. The points at which these bins will be placed are referred to as black spots, from where the bins will be periodically emptied by the BBMP.
These bins won't be permanent structures but movable ones, to facilitate clearance.
"BBMP invited quotations from interest parties to provide these bins. Three people have shown interest but BBMP is yet to take a final decision on it," said an official to Bangalore Mirror.
According to Darpan Jain, it is proposed to install bins compatible with compactors at black spots on a pilot basis, at least two for each ward at one point. The cost of each bin is around Rs 30,000. Jain has thus recommended approval of Rs 50,000 for each ward, which works out to around Rs 1 crore for all the 198 wards. BBMP administrator T M Vijay Bhaskar and commissioner G Kumar Naik have given their approvals for the procurement of these bins.
BBMP technical advisory committee member and urban expert R K Misra blames the citizens for creating these blackspots. "Citizens are equally responsible for creating these points. We only care for our family but not for society. This wrong sense of family honour makes us dump garbage in the open and later we blame the civic body for not clearing it," he said.
http://www.bangaloremirror.com/bangalore/civic/Will-2-bins-per-locality-keep-garbage-away/articleshow/47994213.cms?
For population of cities in India, we need public places garbage collection system round the clock. Practical difficulties need to be understood from the citizen perspective that every citizen will not be able to hand over the garbage to collectors.
Providing these bins with proper system of collection by contractor can regain Bangalore cleanliness. Its responsibility of citizens too not to trhow in open spaces and ensure they drop in those bins only.