Bengaluru is a hi-tech city with a cosmopolitan culture. Just as there are big malls, multiplexes, and famous food-joints, there are certain civic issues like hygiene and waste management. In a city like Bangalore that welcomes hundreds of visitors every month and also has to deal with the amenities, facilities, and infrastructure arrangement for the local citizens, dealing with waste is really a big issue.
Until a couple of years ago, the capital city of Karnataka literally struggled to manage waste in and around the city. Thankfully, the things are brightening up now with the civic bodies in the city taking adequate steps to keep the city clean and free from waste.
Two Waste-Processing Units In Bengaluru Upgraded
The tale of hi-tech waste management in the city stated in 2016 when a local vendor from Rajajinagar running a dry-waste management center started working in collaboration with Sweep Smart, Netherlands’ waste management experts. The venture received backing from Hasiru Dalal. The dry waste management unit of the Electronic City Industrial Township Authority (ELCITA) also supported the venture.
The project ended this month and have now equipped the waste management centers in the city to such an extent that they can match the waste management standards of Europe. With the help of Niels van den Hoek, the co-founder of Sweep Smart and his team of six members the local centers have now become more efficient. These waste management centers in Bangalore now can meet international safety and quality standards.
According to Hoek, “Our aim is to turn waste into happiness. Just because we are working with waste doesn’t mean that the place has to be untidy.” Even though Sweep Smart is based in the Netherlands it has been aggressively working to upgrade the waste management system in India by setting up inclusive and smart systems for the informal sector.
Waste Management Is No More A Dirty Business
But certainly, the waste management system in Bengaluru has turned a new leaf and is poised to dismantle the notion that waste management is a dirty business. The waste management facility in Electronic City every day segregates 3.5 tons of waste collected from around 80 companies every day. The facility segregates the waste into 30 and more categories to ensure maximum recycling.
The overall area of the facility looks almost similar to any well-maintained hospital or dispensary with clean floors, organized, labeled and neatly arranged storage spaces and clear sign-boards. The system works on a conveyor belt that pushes waste assortment with nine workers huddling around it wearing gloves and masks.
These workers pick up the waste according to the categories assigned to them. The CEO of ELCITA, N.S. Rama said, ”Earlier, it used to pain me to watch the women sitting on the floor amidst piles of waste to segregate. This (new system) is more respectable so they can feel good about what they do.“
‘I Got Garbage’ Initiative
Apart from physical changes, Mindtree is providing technical support through “I got garbage” initiative by ensuring availability of usable data allowing resource optimization. According to Rama in the due period, it will increase the processing capacity and quality of ELCITA.
Google Maps To Solve Garbage Crisis
From the month of May, Google Maps will solve the garbage crisis in Doddanekundi. As a part of the pilot project, Google Maps will show garbage pickup status and pourkarmika details at Doddanekundi, Warn No. 85 in Bengaluru. This pilot project is expected to run for around three months for which the Bangalore Political Action Committee (BPAC) researcher P Ramesh Chander has joined hands with Raghu, the Solid Waste Health Management Inspector.
This particular ward is infamous for rampant dumping of garbage and irregular sweeping of streets. With the locals dumping even plastics on the street-sides and corners the area behind the government primary school has become a black spot. According to Ramesh Chander there is no door-to-door garbage pickup facility in this ward and hence their challenge is to restore the entire process and implement a proper garbage collection system.
That Is the reason the team has decided to map the garbage collection process online.
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