In the bustling tech hub of Bengaluru, residents strive to maintain pristine homes, quite unaware that their tidy spaces come at a hidden cost. The burden of keeping countless households clean and smelling fresh is quietly borne by the labour of people and the earth itself; both stretched to their limits to manage the ever-growing waste.
On the far side of the city at Mittaganahalli, about 360-370 compactors turn up every day carrying 3,200 metric tonnes of unsegregated garbage (both dry and wet) to dump at the 50-acre landfill. Located about 40 km away from the Central Business District (CBD) is the only active landfill for the mixed trash generated from 198 wards of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). The rubbish and stench may be out of people’s homes, but they travel through the city to land at Mittaganahalli.
The long journey of the muck begins from the homes around 8 a.m. every day. Even before that, workers who collect it from homes and black spots (public places where people discard garbage) gather at a designated place in every ward around 6.30 a.m., along with auto tippers, to mark their attendance. For every auto tipper, two workers are assigned: one to collect the rubbish from homes and streets and another to drive the vehicle.
The Hindu followed the journey of the trash, along with the stakeholders involved in the entire chain.
Garbage being shifted from tipper to a compator in Bengaluru. | Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN
All mixed up
In ward number 177, on a Tuesday morning, the auto tippers dispersed to collect wet and mixed waste from homes after completing formalities. The tipper has a dedicated space to put the wet ones and two more sacks for the mixed.
BBMP rules mandate residents to segregate wet and dry garbage. While wet trash is collected daily, dry junk is picked up by vehicles handled by the Dry Waste Collection Centres thrice a week.
At a house in J.P. Nagar 3rd phase, when the worker opened the dust bin, he saw both wet and dry garbage mixed. He left the bin and moved on to another residence. Worker Ramayya (name changed) complained that despite informing the resident about the need for segregation, nothing had changed. “The simple task of dumping wet refuse in one bin and dry in another is not carried out by some residents in the area which is known to be populated by educated people,” he lamented.
On the first trip, the tippers collect only wet waste, and on the second trip, the mixed one is picked up. After this, the vehicles travel again to collect the rubbish from the black spots. From 6 a.m. to 1 p.m., those who work under the contractors are engaged in collecting junk.
The residents place the bins filled with wet waste on the streets for collection. A few come out of the homes, hearing the whistles blown by the workers. Vegetables, meat, and food rejects are key components of wet garbage.
Each auto tipper in 177 wards collects refuse from about 1,200 houses. There are about 17 autos assigned for this ward. In the 2012 survey, 750 residences were demarcated as one block and assigned to one auto. Now, the number of homes has increased.
Ramayya, while collecting the waste, said he also had the responsibility of collecting the leaves and other rubbish swept aside by pourakarmikas in the morning. As soon as the tippers are filled with garbage, the same will be transferred to compactors.
BBMP workers clearing the rubbish from the streets in Bengaluru. | Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN
Unbearable stench
Ningappa (name changed), another worker, said the worst part of this work was having to bear the stench constantly. “We have masks given by the BBMP, but it is difficult to work wearing masks as they do not allow us to breathe properly as we work,” he said.
Anand Reddy, a wet waste contractor, said, “This ward is far better than other wards in the city as 60% of the households segregate. While the wet garbage collected from the homes is transported in compactors to processing units, the mixed one is sent to landfill. Many say contractors are minting money, but many challenges make this job hard.”
Mr. Reddy said some people who do night shifts or wake up late do not give away their waste in the morning when the vehicles arrive at their doorstep. They pack both wet and dry rubbish in one plastic bag and carelessly hurl them somewhere outside, resulting in hundreds of black spots in each ward.
On the other hand, Prajwal M., a resident of Jayanagar, complained that some auto tipper workers, despite residents handing over to them the segregated waste, mixed them with dry ones.
Anitha S.R., a resident of J.P. Nagar, said in her area, the workers promptly collect the segregated rubbish. The workers even arrive in the afternoon to pick up leftover trash on the streets swept by the pourakarmikas, she added.
Tippers to compactors
A black spot welcomed The Hindu team at the transfer point. Even around 9.30 a.m., citizens were seen throwing the garbage near the compactor. Ganganna, the driver of the compactor, said, “On several occasions, I asked them not to dump rubbish near the vehicle as it is a violation of the BBMP rules. In response, the residents question my authority to stop them. I am an ordinary driver who earns ₹15,000 per month. Most of my life is spent with the rubbish and unbearable stench. After a certain point, I stopped talking to these people. It is pointless.”
Ganganna said near most of the transfer points, black spots have surfaced.
There are three compactors in ward 177, two for wet and one for mixed. The auto tippers make multiple trips to compactors to transfer the garbage. The compactor can carry waste up to 10 tonnes to 12 tonnes. Every time the tipper arrives, the driver has to operate the vehicle to stuff the rubbish.
This process is undertaken till 1 p.m. and then starts the long journey of the compactor.
Garbage being dumped in the Mittanaganahalli landfill in Bengaluru. | Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN
City to landfill
The fully loaded compactors are set on their journey to the landfill at Mittaganahalli from their respective wards. Navigating the city traffic on the Airport Road is another herculean task.
As the trucks move through the city, the leachate leaks through the tiny gaps and falls on the roads. The commuters in other vehicles moving near the trucks grimace and pinch their noses, unable to bear the stench emanating from the waste. The trucks have to move slowly on the roads to avoid accidents as many accidents involving the trucks had earlier raked up controversy.
Ganganna said, “We have to be extra cautious while driving. If I start my journey at 1 p.m., I reach the landfill around 3.30 p.m. The travel time is two and a half hours. Before 4 p.m. we have to reach because, after that, the movement of heavy vehicles is restricted. We are always anxious to reach the destination on time.”
The landfill
It’s a different world, a world of waste, at the landfill. The stench is so strong that one can sense the landfill 1 km away.
From the gate to the large dumping pits at the site, compactors stand in a queue waiting for their turn to dump the mixed waste consisting of food refuse, plastic, cardboard, clothes, plates, paper and just about everything one can imagine. The vehicles have to wait for hours to unload the junk at the site. Ganganna, who arrived at 3.30 p.m., managed to unload the vehicle around 7 p.m.
The vehicle, before dumping, has to pass through a weighing bridge to weigh the garbage. After weighing, the vehicle is allowed to move to the dumping site, where one can see heaps of trash in large pits.
Leachate from waste collected in Mittanaganahalli. | Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN
While a large portion of the landfill has an asphalted road in bad condition, a small portion is not asphalted as it is private land. The vehicles get stuck here sometimes during the monsoon. This further delays the journey. The BBMP dumps mud on the slushy stretch to facilitate the smooth flow of vehicles.
Even after dumping the waste, the vehicles have to be parked on the premises as heavy vehicle movement is allowed inside the city only after 10 p.m. Ganganna said, “We have to endure the foul smell from 3.30 p.m. to 10 p.m. inside the landfill. Now garbage and the smell have become my companions.”
The landfill has a large lake-like structure which is filled with leachate and mixed waste, exposing chinks in trash management. An employee at the site said the leachate has no doubt mixed with water going to the households in the area.
The leachate treatment plant at the site treats 1 lakh litres to generate 80,000 litres of water, which can be used for non-drinking purposes. On the other hand, the BBMP is also constructing a methane plant to produce methane from the waste.
The landfill is now left with five acres of land for dumping the garbage underground. About 45 acres of land is exhausted. The ground level in this area is slowly coming down as waste is composted. In about a year, the landfill may be shut for use, said an employee.
A full circle
An IT employee, whose 1.5 crore house stands 300 metres from the landfill, is now ready to sell it at a throwaway price. But there are no takers for obvious reasons. The trash generated from the homes is also impacting the lives of the better off and real estate in the area, besides causing environmental hazards and heaping misery on the likes of Ramayya, who is spending a lifetime with trash. The flats here are sold at ₹50 lakh despite the market price being ₹ 80 lakh.
But 45 km away, people who throw mixed waste at black spots may have absolutely no idea what people are undergoing at Mittaganahalli.
Published - August 16, 2024 07:00 am IST
