Two months after the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) started collecting sanitary waste separately, approximately 17 tonnes of it are being collected across all the zones in the city daily. But this just a fraction of what the citizens generate, and the scope of collection varies widely: while south, R.R. Nagar and Yelahanka zones contribute to a major chunk, the process has not even begun in Mahadevapura.
“We have not yet finalised an agency for Mahadevapura zone as no one was ready to take it up during the ongoing pilot phase,” said Hemalatha, executive engineer, Solid Waste Management. She said tenders for sanitary waste processing from all the zones would be finalised by the end of April.
N.S. Ramakanth, member of the Solid Waste Management Round Table, said the problem lay in the delay in allocation of funds. “There was no specific allocation in the last budget for sanitary waste management. Other than one agency, the others have been asking for full down payment,” said Mr. Ramakanth.
Waste management agencies have also mandated that sanitary waste be brought to the incineration plants in non-chlorinated yellow bags, an additional cost the BBMP has to bear. “Once this year’s budgetary allocation comes, processing of sanitary waste will get a boost,” Mr. Ramakanth said. An amount of ₹898.94 crore has been allotted for garbage disposal and SWM in the BBMP’s 2017-18 budget.
According to the official, 80 to 90 tonnes of sanitary waste is generated across Bengaluru daily.
In February, an average of 9.57 tonnes of sanitary waste was collected daily, and this increased to 17 tonnes in March. South zone led the way with a maximum collection of 15.15 tonnes of sanitary waste out of 1201.87 tonnes of waste overall in March. However, Mr. Ramakanth says, the numbers are being driven by the likes of Yelahanka ward and KSR Layout where a robust system of segregation is already in place.
Sharing responsibility
The BBMP is also exploring the option of getting companies to pick the tab on waste from their products under Extended Product Responsibility. “The product is made by companies and used by residents. It is unfair to put the entire responsibility of managing product waste on civic agencies,” said Ms. Hemalatha. “Such practices have been implemented in other countries with a fair degree of success.”
