As the law of diminishing returns sets in… to haunt me… with dwindling viewership for every additional blog I write, the present blog hopes to arrest this tendency (i.e. the declining viewership); please don’t be misguided by the so-called “social purpose” inherent in this blog… as you may not end up reading “a rags to riches story”… but about “waste to compost story”!!
Though vehicular pollution has been given much attention… with piecemeal efforts… and lot of brouhaha, not much attention has been paid to the garbage “produced” by city dwellers. Is this because garbage is dumped in landfills located in the villages that are far away from cities, but the vehicular pollution and traffic jams directly affect the city dwellers? Only when there is a “garbage crisis”, which pierces their “sensitive” olfactory system or when the smoke from landfill fires choke the air, the city dwellers wake up to something called “stench” and “acrid odour”. Till then, they throw their garbage wherever they find a vacant spot…with the motto “not in my backyard”…and “live happily ever after”; of course, till the next “garbage crisis” strikes!!
To put it into context, Bangalore alone produces an estimated 5000 tons of garbage every day! Clearly, the city dwellers produce more garbage than they can chew!!!! The garbage generated is carried by the contract trucks…with “spillovers” throughout their journey… to a minimum distance of 25 km (vehicular pollution?) and finally dumped in landfills created in the surrounding villages, e.g. Mandur landfill alone has an estimated 20 to 25 lakh tonnes of garbage… that is an avalanche… if not… a tsunami!!
Imagine the stench from this humongous quantity of garbage that the villagers have to bear throughout the year, while the city dwellers can’t even withstand >10 kg of garbage dumped in their neighbourhood! The dumped garbage (a mixture of rotting and rotten foods, plastics, metals, glass materials, hazardous and toxic chemicals, leather, rubber, e-wastes, electrical items, bodily fluids, hospital wastes, etc.) pollutes the nearby ponds, lakes, and other water sources and contaminates the ground water and soil, affecting the growth of plants and causing skin diseases in villagers. In addition, the landfills are “good” breeding grounds for the tiny musketeers… the ubiquitous mosquitoes! These are only tip of the iceberg! Remember, when we depend on villages for all our needs and greed(s)…except apps… what right do we have to dump our garbage in hapless villages?
Do we have a solution to arrest this indiscriminate dumping and the age-old problem of… garb“age” in our vicinity? Yes, the solution lies in preventing the garbage from moving out of our homes… by composting! Are there any advantages to the individual, society at large and government? A big YES!
Advantages to the individual: Any biodegradable waste generated in households such as vegetable and fruit wastes and leftover food items can be composted within the cool confines of our home. One such method of composting is through smart bins that composts biodegradable wastes with the help of biobloom
(a microorganism) developed by Greentech (http://www.greentechlife.in/product/smartbins/). Using this method, the generation of waste can be reduced by >60%. After 2 weeks of composting, a brown leachate appears at the bottom of the bin and can be used as a growth promoter for the household plants after dilution, or can be used to unclog the kitchen sink! The compost generated after a few months can either be used as a manure to the household plants or sold, fetching revenue. The bin doesn’t occupy much space, doesn’t smell, doesn’t attract insects, flies, rodents, etc….and the investment can be recovered in just 7 months… and later only profits! So GARBAGE is GOLD!!! Segregation of waste is inherent in this process. There are other options to compost using Khamba developed by daily dump (http://www.dailydump.org/) or by the EcoBin
(myecobin.in/). People need not depend on existing or erratic or nonexistent civic agencies to dispose their wastes! Above all, the satisfaction of contributing to the society.
Advantages to the society: The environmental and social costs are reduced as the waste is disposed at the point of use!!! The amount saved on disposal of waste can be spent on many social welfare programmes. As there will be no garbage on roadsides and vacant spots, dog population will decline, consequently the number of dog bites and incidence of rabies will reduce. Also, the population of rodents and mosquitoes will decline, resulting in reduced disease burden and the cost of treatment (remember the 1994 Surat plague!). The compost generated in the households can be sent to the farmers’ fields (the pollution caused by this movement is acceptable, considering the greater social impact…benefit-risk profile is favourable!!! ), which when applied to the crops improves the yield and produces more nutritious food. Above all, as there is no garbage on the streets, “conservancy workers” who carry the garbage with their “bare hands”
can be moved to more productive occupations and their dignity restored.
Advantages to the government: The headache of calling for tenders from contractors to dispose the garbage now and then, the cost of monitoring the contract vehicles, the cost, energy and pollution incurred in the transportation of garbage, and the pollution caused by the garbage in affected villages are reduced. Considering the fact that the government spends approximately Rs. 500 crore on solid waste management for Bangalore alone, this is a tremendous saving that can be used for other productive and social welfare purposes! Above all, the wrath of city dwellers and villagers alike will be dispelled!!!
Hence this a win-win situation for the individuals, society, and government.
In case of cafetarias, large-scale industrial composters are available… to name a few… from Earth Care
Equipments Private Limited (http://www.earthcareequipments.com/), Smart Enviro Systems (http:// www.smartenvirosystems.co.in/profile.html), Ecoman (http://www.ecomanenviro.com/), Excel Industries (http:// www.excelind.co.in/)!!! It is not only corporate social responsibility but also “individual social responsibility” important for the collective wellbeing of the society.
Signing off…without style and substance
NB: 1. For reference, I have added a picture of Smart bin, Smartbin Air, and leachate.
- A description on composting methods used by these companies cannot be construed as an endorsement of their products!
- To those who have not seen landfills, a typical one will look like this…
of course, without the accompanying odour… Will the “virtual reality” tour be of help?