The initiative for better management of the city’s waste is believed to have suffered a setback. Several of the families that had adopted segregation at source are believed to have gone back to the old ways of disposing mixed waste.
A study taken up in February 2016 estimated that only 40 per cent of the city's households segregate waste, but the Solid Waste Management Expert Committee of the BBMP now feels that the number has gone down since then, undoing the little progress made in this direction.
“We are yet to conduct a fresh study. But seeing the increase in the quantity of mixed waste since February 2016, it’s clear that at least some of the households that had begun segregation earlier this year have now abandoned the practice,” said N.S. Ramakanth, member, SWM Expert Committee.
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Civic officials also concede that segregation levels have dipped.
With the new tenders for garbage collection failing to take off, the civic body seems to have lost its grip over garbage collection, which has led to aggregation of segregated waste, experts said.
History of landfills
December 31, 2014: BBMP closes Mandur landfill
following protests
2014: Starts dumping mixed waste in abandoned
quarries in S. Bingipura and Lakshmipura. Both closed
in September 2015 following protests
April 1, 2016: Terrafirma, a composting unit which had turned into a landfill, closed following protests
July 2016: BBMP begins dumping mixed waste at
three abandoned quarries
BBMP is dumping around 1,200 tonnes of mixed waste at abandoned stone quarries in Bagalaur, Mittaganahalli and Bellahalli
Timeline
December 2015: HC mandates segregation of waste at source
February 2016: Study reveals only 40% of households comply
July 2016: SWM Expert Committee feels that segregation is below 40%