Crisis of waste management engulfs Bangalore
As tons of garbage piles up in the city, just before the monsoons, the local body representatives (BWSSB) are taking a gander for solutions from the top 10 cities in the country, which are worded for waste management. Rolling in with market reports, experts are of the notion that Bangalore is likely to sink under its own heap of waste, soon. Nearly 5000 tons of garbage are generated in the city per diem, however, mere 4000 cleaners are on the payroll, to deal with it. Making matters worse, the cleaners in the city are not at all well-paid.
Taking a cue from the ‘unavoidable’ fact that Bangalore sprung up in the absence of proper urban planning, today the city faces a crunch for space to dump all the waste. Along with the working population, the number of apartments and houses in the city has jacked up that led to more waste with time. As per the present policy in the city, using landfills for waste disposal remains in the dumps, and decentralized waste management and source reduction are the new watchwords.
Landfills-the traditional approach
Till the time July 2012, like a number of other Indian urban sprawls Bangalore, deported its unsegregated waste to its landfills on the outermost part of the city. The Bruhat Bengaluru Palike, on account of all the shut doors, was left with no other choice than to dump 3000 to 4000 tons of waste on landfills, since the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board closed down the Mavallipura landfill on account of health hazards.
Land-filling of waste is not environmentally sustainable. Furthermore, due to the number of health hazards it brings to pass, it is not a socially accepted method of waste disposal. Along with BBMP, other groups are also of the same opinion that people dwelling near to landfills are deprived of clean air and water, and are often thrown open to ill-effects of the environment, thanks to the city’s garbage.
The solution
As per authorities, only foreign forces can pull Bangalore out of this mess. In tune with this, the government has decided to send 5-10 delegation to San Francisco, to find a key to unlock Bangalore’s potential of waste management.
Another significant development has been in regard to the formal sector and their contribution in the emerging waste management infrastructures. Sorters, itinerant buyers, waste pickers, scrap dealers and other workers in the informal sector have offered significant economic and environmental services to the city, by shifting recyclables from landfills.
