Several residents’ associations are taking it upon themselves to compost garden waste in their neighbourhoods. The sheer quantity of twigs, branches, grass clippings and leaves make them difficult to manage.
“We take the garden waste separately from residences as well as streets. It is put through a shredder. The waste is composted in a separate space allotted to us by the BBMP," says Nitin Sheshadri of Koramangala Residents' Association.
The fear of leaves and twigs piling up and later becoming black spots spurred residents from Sanjayngar to manage their waste. “A lot of garden waste is generated in our neighbourhood. They are too heavy and unwieldy for a single pourakarmika to lift,” says Subbaiah T.S. from the 'Citizens for Sustainability', a residents’ group in Sanjaynagar, who believes uncollected garden waste attracts other trash.
“There are piles of twigs and leaves at every street corner, creating a sort of heap that gets mistaken for a garbage pile. It does not take long for people to begin dumping waste on top of the heap and before you know it, you have a new black spot,” he added.
Garden waste, if shredded effectively, can be converted into excellent compost, which is one of the reasons why both Koramangala Residents' Association and Citizens for Sustainability have invested in shredders, which cost around Rs 1.5 lakh each.
