The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will soon be taking up an audit of all the 164 dry waste collection centres (DWCCs) in the city. This decision was taken after The Hindu reported that two centres had been shut down. While the DWCC at Ganesh Mandir ward had been closed to make way for a badminton court, another at Shantinagar was shut after a few residents objected to it operating in the locality.
The shutting down of the DWCCs did not go down well with waste management experts, especially in the backdrop of the Karnataka High Court stressing on the need for a decentralised processing system for waste. Sources said the BBMP's Solid Waste Management (SWM) Cell was apprised of the lack of adequate infrastructure in these DWCCs.
BBMP's Special Commissioner (SWM) D. Randeep confirmed that an agency had been engaged to conduct an audit of the existing facilities in DWCCs. “The audit will also look at whether the DWCCs need any upgradation, additional facilities, whether additional space is required and how the centre can be equipped to better recycle the dry waste generated in the ward,” he said.
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The agency is expected to come out with an ‘implementable plan’ in two months, he added.
10 centres to be upgraded
Around 10 DWCCs are likely to upgraded by an European company. The proposal was submitted to the government last year and was approved recently. Sources said that with the upgradation, the DWCCs will have state-of-the-art equipment for sorting dry waste into 20 different categories.
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“Though sorting happens manually, the machines will assist the DWCC staff. The company will be training the staff and handhold them till necessary,” said civic officials.
The hope is that the use of conveyor belts and sorting machines will substantially reduce the time taken to segregate dry waste.
“The objective is to make DWCCs a cleaner and more staff-friendly place that will help improve services,” said a source.