Residents of Tungabhadra Block in the National Games Village (NGV) are benefiting from a Zero Waste Management (ZWM) project launched two months ago. It has not only made the premises clean and green but has also made them realise the importance of waste segregation.
“Our block generated 4,347 kg of waste in one month, of which only 418 kg of dry waste was sent to landfills after segregation. The remaining wet waste was recycled and used as compost. This has enabled us to keep our surroundings clean and use the garbage in a productive manner,” said Meera Rajesh, ZWM convener and coordinator of Tungabhadra Residents' Welfare Association.
Addressing presspersons here, Ms. Rajesh said the project was successful only because of the support of the residents.
The Association for India's Development and Karnataka Housing Board were also actively involved in it.
Sessions held
Awareness sessions on waste segregation were organised for the residents of the block over two months.
“The segregation takes place at various levels such as the secondary level, where eggshells and citrus peels are converted into compost for plants, and paper and cardboard segregated into different categories. At the tertiary level, plastic covers are segregated into different categories, resulting in zero waste management,” she said.
Pointing out that garbage collection was carried out every 12 hours, Srinivasan C. of Indian Green Service, also involved in the project, said this was to ensure that workers handling the waste are spared the stench.
Soumya Thontesh, a volunteer in the project, said the residents' association would try to popularise waste segregation and composting. “We will try and implement the project across the State,” she said.
