On the contrary: Let's talk trash

Given that Trump will shortly assume the mantle of the American Presidency and be exposed to far more dangerous groping options, like the nuclear button, it’s probably a good time to talk trash.

Let’s focus on why the BBMP repeatedly infringes Donald’s copyright by creating a mountain of garbage out of what should have been a molehill, provided our Palike had followed one-third of the eminently sensible practices laid out by the Municipal Solid Waste Rules 2016.

The similarities between our Palike and the trash-talking Trump don’t end there: both rely on pseudo-scientific theory to justify the adoption of short-cut methods. While Trump wants to build a wall to ensure that Tex-Mex is Mex-free, the Palike has delved deep into its think tank and come up with a brilliant solution for untreated garbage.

‘Abandoned  quarry do not cry, you’ll become a landfill, by and by’, has become their new mantra and huge amounts have been spent on bio-membrane lining for scientific landfills, a term which must qualify as the ultimate oxymoron.

In 1997, researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine reviewed 46 studies on this subject concluding that, “Landfill sites represent significant risks in certain circumstances.”

They also found a 33% increased chance of birth defects and leukaemia occurring in babies born to families living within 3 km of any of 21 landfills in 10 European countries. What was far more terrifying is that the studies were unable to identify the exact mechanism of the hazard. Is it air or water pollution?

No one knows, but the evidence is crystal-clear: living near a landfill can be seriously injurious to your health. As long as we remain addicted to chlorine chemistry and adopt a cavalier approach to waste disposal, our discards will be toxic, and the places where we bury them will be Chernobyllic, long after Putin has joined Lenin.

The Palike’s toughest task is to sugar-coat this toxic pill for the “lucky” villagers who have become the unwilling “beneficiaries” of the garbage lottery. The residents of Mitaganahalli and Bellahalli on Thanisandra Road don’t just have to deal with our trash; they have the additional misfortune of being divided into different assembly constituencies, represented by MLAs from warring political parties. What is a scientific landfill?

It basically means untreated waste is dumped in a tarpaulin-lined quarry which will eventually be covered by a thick layer of mud on which, hold your breath, lawns and beautiful trees will be grown. Probably on the same day pigs take wing, which is why the local yokels have smelt a rat and nixed the idea.

Which frankly, is vesry annoying for the forcesof modernity and progress, since they have already blown up Rs 35 lakhs to cover each quarry pit with tarpaulin. Your correspondent spoke to Sarfaraz Khan, Joint Commissioner (Health), who has been on several “educational visits” to convince the villagers.

In what appears to have been taken from Chapter 1of the Snake Oil Salesman’s Guide, he claims, "Once a layer of garbage is laid, it would be covered by a huge layer of mud, which would prevent issues of gas leakage and odour. We have taken inputs from IISc experts.”

“Hmm, really, and what about fissures from unscientific blasting methods, groundwater contamination and leachate?” one asked. At which point in time Mr. Khan discovered he had far more pressing issues to consider, such as meetings and overseas trips. “Call me in December,” he helpfully suggested. Repressing the urge to reply I’d rather take my chances with Santa Claus, I hung up.

Most sensible municipal authorities avoid landfills like the plague are because of the unholy trinity of toxins, leachate and greenhouse gases. Electronic waste from televisions, computers and smartphones contain dozens of hazardous substances, including mercury, arsenic, cadmium, PVC, acids and lead.

Leachate is the slurry formed when waste breaks down in the landfill and rainwater leaches through that waste: the resulting compound is highly toxic. Greenhouse gas occurs when organic material such as food scraps and green waste is compacted and anaerobically decomposed.

The byproduct is methane, a highly flammable greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide, which is why fires and explosions are common. So can the entire blame for this unfolding environmental disaster be laid at the doorstep of the BBMP?

No, because we the people of Bengaluru have destroyed the lives of children in Bellahalli and Mitaganahalli just as we did in Mandur and Malvalli. All we need to do is compostour food scraps and green waste which will reduce by almost 75% the 4000 MT of garbage we generate daily. Next week, this column will forsake doom and gloom in favour of solutions. Watch this space.