The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is looking to rebuild, renovate and upgrade its dry waste collection centres (DWCCs) in the city. This decision was taken following an audit of all the 143 DWCCs in Bengaluru, which, according to BBMP’s Special Commissioner (Solid Waste Management) D. Randeep, helped them understand the gaps that exist with respect to operations — from infrastructure and capacity to the financial model.
People working in these centres have raised several issues about their work conditions such as poor lighting and ventilation, lack of proper plumbing and sanitary connections, structurally unsound buildings, and mainly, space constraints. Mr. Randeep said the BBMP had developed a functional design of the DWCC for the management of dry waste. “We have developed standardised building layouts for three capacities — one tonne per day [TPD] (manual sorting), two TPD, and four TPD (semi-mechanised sorting),” he said.
All the 143 DWCCs had been evaluated as per the new design and over the next year, many would be taken up for renovation, rebuilding and upgrading at a cost of ₹65 crore.
Of these, 120 DWCCs would be either upgraded or renovated: the BBMP is looking upgrading 68 DWCCs through minor renovation and has identified 52 that have the potential to expand as though are small, they are located on large sites. These centres will be rebuilt into larger DWCCs with more capacity. The audit also found 23 DWCCs to be unfit. The operations of these centres will be moved to alternative sites, once land is identified.
The city is short of facilities in 55 wards and here, too, the BBMP has to identify land.
Hasiru Dala study
Hasiru Dala, an organisation that works towards bringing ragpickers into the mainstream, had conducted a study of 16 DWCCs taking into consideration capacity, working conditions, type of waste received, and operational necessities, such as flow of waste through the centres. Some of the suggestions included installation of CCTV cameras, a garden or space for flowering plants such as jasmine, tube rose, and champa to keep foul smell in check. Rainwater harvesting, solar lights, pest control measures, a small composting unit for wet waste that comes in with the dry waste, a storage drum for dry leaves, and proper sanitary bins were also the requirements the study had highlighted.
Civic officials said the BBMP’s plan was also not very different. According to Mr. Randeep, the civic body’s new design that is largely based on green building concepts (rainwater harvesting, solar lighting, natural lighting, and ventilation) with separate areas and zones for receiving mixed dry waste, sorting, and storing for seamless flow or activities, and visual cleanliness. Some of the key amenities, such as fire sprinkler systems, toilets, changing rooms, office, and lunch areas for the workers, have been included. The green building concept would be adopted for the new DWCCs, while the existing ones would be upgraded to meet this standard.
The building design also has scope for expansion in the future with provisions for semi-mechanisation where machinery and equipment such as conveyors, bailers, and machine lifts will be provided, he added.
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