A waste management system has been put in place at Kochar Panchsheel (KP) by the resident-owners and volunteers from each floor with the support of the residents’ welfare association. Kochar Panchsheel is a gated community in Ambattur.
Volunteers drew up a plan to get residents to make a habit of waste segregation. As part of this, even helpers at the house were sensitised about the need to segregate waste and how to go about doing it.
Household waste is separated as wet, dry recyclable and reject waste by the residents dropped into clearly-marked bins placed at common areas. This process is overseen by a janitor. Monitoring waste segregation is part of the job requirements of the hired janitor.
If any household is not segregated waste the right way, the janitor has to bring it to the notice of the volunteers, who will in turn educate the residents concerned about right source-segregation practices. The dry recyclable waste is sold to waste vendors and the proceeds are shared by the house-keeping workers. The reject waste is transferred to the main bins for the Corporation to collect. Compost created out of the wet waste goes to nourish the plants at the terrace garden. Through pictorials, brochures and orientation programmes that are conducted frequently, awareness about waste management is created. Floor-wise inspections are carried out by volunteers to ensure everyone is in line with the established rules of waste management. With greater efforts of owners and volunteers and good work done by the housekeeping staff, managing waste has become easier. Only one third of the entire apartment waste goes to the landfill.
(Santhosh Abraham is secretary of Kochar Panchsheel Resident Association )
