Residents of Sanjaynagar are determined to ensure that the waste they generate does not reach landfills. After having successfully installed lane composters, they, along with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), have tied up with a private waste management service provider that offers a mobile composting service.
The vehicle, developed by Mobitrash, will pick up segregated kitchen and garden waste. It has a shredder, which will pulverise the waste. Cocopeat, sawdust or shredded leaves will be added following which it will be inoculated with an environmentally safe facilitator to speed up the composting process to convert the waste into manure.
A three-month pilot project was launched at Block 3 of Dollars Colony on Wednesday. BBMP’s Special Commissioner (Solid Waste Management) D. Randeep said the USP of the mobile mechanism is that it an auto-tipper and compactor rolled into one.
The civic body is paying ₹1 lakh to the company for the pilot project. “Once the company proves that the process is economically viable, we will look into taking the model to other wards,” he said.
Another advantage is that as the vehicle goes around collecting wet waste, it will help create awareness among citizens about the importance of segregation, he added.
The project is being implemented in one one block comprising 750 houses.
“This particular block has been chosen as the segregation level is more than 80%. The waste will be kept in aerated trays and placed in a local park for around 10 days to allow composting. The manure can either be used by the residents for their gardens or by the BBMP in the many parks in the area,” said Vignan Gowda from Sanjay Nagar Residents' Welfare Association.
The capacity of the mobile composting unit is 1.5 tonnes per day. Each block, comprising 750 houses, is estimated to generate around 500 kg of wet waste each day.
The vendor has been providing waste management services in Pune, Mumbai and Surat.
“By December, we hope to take this project to all the 13 blocks in Radhakrishna Temple ward,” said a senior civic official.
Mr. Gowda said this is an attempt towards decentralised waste processing. “We want to make Sanjaynagar a plastic-free zone. We will also be exploring other vendors who can help us with in-situ composting of wet waste,” he added.
