Recycling waste: How fallen leaves are rising to the occasion

Now it is not just Bengalureans heading outskirts to pick up fresh farm produce; farmers are heading to the city to pick up dry leaves from the streets

Bengaluru: Residents making a bee-line to the outskirts on weekends to get their quota of fresh farm produce is a common sight. But now, there may be a role reversal, as farmers make their way to Bengaluru to scour for fresh manure. Tonnes of leaves shed by the city’s trees, which are commonly burnt during dry seasons, are now being collected, mulched and used in farms after a citizens-led initiative began gathering steam.

Take for instance Anil Kapoor, a resident of HAL II Stage, who has a farm off Sarjapur Road. For the past couple of years, he has been using leaf-litter from Defence Colony and HAL as organic manure for fruit trees and vegetable patches on his farm. “Every day, we collect dry leaves from the road and parks. This season, we collected nearly 30 truck loads,” Mr. Kapoor said.

He's not alone. Several urban farmers are collecting withered dry leaves from the city's streets and using them effectively at their farms for mulching. Apart from providing manure, these dry leaves are spread around the root of trees to conserve moisture from the top layer of soil.

Smitha Kamath, a resident of Whitefield, has been using leaf-litter in her Devara Kadu farm in Chennapattana. Its usefulness led her to initiate a leaf-litter collection programme in her neighbourhood. “We have started a WhatsApp group bringing together volunteers from various localities and urban farmers on one platform to evolve a street-to-farm supply chain. The biggest challenge is the transportation cost,” she said.

However, some farmers have already found a way to reduce the cost. “Several vehicles come from my village to the city bringing farm produce. Some carry leaf-litter on the way back,” said Nagabhushan, a techie and resident of Yelahanka who owns a farm in Tumakuru.

At the same time, numerous organisations in the city are finding ways to ensure constant collection of leaves and proper storage. Anu Govind, of Whitefield Rising, said empty plots are being used to store dry leaves. “Pourakarmikas dump leaf-litter in a plot, which is then composted or sent to farms,” she said.

At Koramangala, leaf composters are being placed in several localities. Padmashree, a volunteer of Bengaluru Eco Team (BET), put up 20 leaf composters a month ago.

All the leaf-litter and used flowers are being dumped into them. “A 100 more such leaf composters will be installed in another two weeks,” she said.