Is a housing complex maintained well? The answer to that often, quite literally, lies in the garbage. How is garbage collected? How is it disposed? These two questions can reveal a lot about a housing block’s cleanliness record.
There are many developers who build modern apartments and showcase garbage disposal systems that are designed for healthier living and a greener planet. However, not all follow through on the promise. I’ve seen several modern developments in plush locations, with chutes for wet garbage and dry garbage to facilitate segregation and easier disposal, where the waste is not segregated despite the provision. Worse, in some societies, while residents segregate, the maintenance staff mixes all the waste.
Segregation ensures that a most of the waste is recycled and doesn’t end up in landfills. Besides, unhealthy chemical reactions due to mixing wastes can be avoided. However, in most residential complexes, nobody takes the effort to educate the maintenance staff about this. What’s also often lacking is the initiative by residents to undertake waste segregation and by the resident welfare bodies to ensure this is done. The conclusion: provisions by builders don’t alone make for waste conscious living.
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Quite a contrary situation was noted by me in a residential complex in India’s IT city, Bangalore. In a residential block that’s over a decade old, there is no modern day garbage disposal system, but the residents there have resolved to segregate waste into dry, organic and sanitary. The association has issued different coloured bins to each household to do this. Any non-compliance is dealt with through the imposition of a stiff daily penalty. And this has worked.
What’s more interesting is that the disposal of waste is earning the society a hefty sum, much of which is used as to incentivise the garbage collection team, which now realises that there is a direct benefit for ensuring compliance.
The conscious effort to implement and efficiently manage the garbage disposal system has improved cleanliness within the residential complex. The staff responsible for garbage disposal ensures that no scraps fall out or get left behind. The efficiency gets reflected in most other areas of maintenance as well. And that’s a big pointer for any home buyer. And this is a tip for building associations.
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When buying a home in a developed complex, look for garbage disposal systems. If the complex scores high on this count, chances are you are buying into a good property. If not, your investment may well stink!.
Formerly Editor, Outlook Business, and Executive Editor, NDTV-Profit, the writer is now an entrepreneur with a keen interest in personal finance. Contact propertyplus@thehindu.co.in