The garbage problem has turned from bad to worse, with even those who were segregating waste earlier now handing over mixed garbage bags to pourakarmikas. The government has made segregation mandatory, but the city roads and open spaces are filled with piles of garbage. Though the newly elected mayor, G. Padmavathi, has set herself a target of 75 per cent segregation at source, will she achieve it in her one-year term is the big question.
Why should we segregate waste, when it is getting mixed up ? In 2012, Bengaluru, recognised as the IT City worldwide, made headlines that left many in the city hanging their heads in shame. It earned the title of “Garbage City” owing to its rubbish- strewn streets. Sadly, the city, which offered IT solutions worldwide, saw itself gaining notoriety for failing to come up with a solution for the growing piles of rubbish on its street corners. Finally, guidelines were issued to segregate the garbage at source and the BBMP carried out a public campaign to take the concept home to people. And to demonstrate it meant business it warned there would be no collection of mixed garbage.
But it has proved to be a paper tiger as even today only 40 per cent of the garbage is segregated at source and the rest is still collected by its trucks and pourakarmikas. Worse, many of those who did care to segregate their garbage in the past, admit to no longer doing so and squarely blame the BBMP for their apathy.
Take a resident of VV Puram, Ms Dhanalaxmi M, who confesses she is no longer segregating garbage although she did in the past. Ask her why and she says, "Earlier the pourakarmikas refused to collect the unsegregated waste and so there was compulsion to segregate it at source. We segregated it into dry and wet and handed it over in two covers to them. But as there is no compulsion now, we are not segregating the waste any more and are handing it over to them in one cover and they readily accept it."
She is only one of many residents, who claim they are not segregating their garbage any more because the BBMP doesn't seem to be enforcing its own diktat.
Others like Ms Parvathamma of Chamarajpet feel there is little point in segregating the waste as it gets mixed up anyway later. "Even if we segregate our garbage it gets mixed up when we hand it over to the mini trucks, which come to collect it every day. Then what is the point?" she asks pertinently.
What are RWAs doing to segregate garbage ?
The BBMP may not be enforcing its own rule on garbage segregation at source very well , but Resident Welfare Associations are playing a pro-active role in creating awareness about it and persuading more people to take to it. Says Mr Joel Samuel, hon. secretary of Benson Town Residents Welfare Association, "For the past three –and- a -half years we have been spreading the message of segregating garbage at source. There were around 10 black spots where mixed garbage was dumped in our area and they have been cleared. We also roped in children, who were first educated on the benefits of segregating garbage at source and then sent door-to-door to carry the message to the people. This way we made all the residents fall in line.”
But despite such efforts , the result has not been to the association’s liking as the segregated garbage is collected by the BBMP in the same truck, where it is mixed up, leaving the residents looking on frustratedly.
The government has made segregation mandatory, but the city roads and open spaces are filled with piles of garbage. (Photo: Shashidhar B.)
To understand the situation better, the RWA members decided to visit the dumping yard in Yelahanka and saw to their dismay that the garbage contractor was paid based on the overall weight of the garbage he carried to the dumping yard, no matter whether it was segregated or not. "This was why he didn't care and so this mode of payment has to change," Mr Samuel emphasises.
But not all RWAs have been successful in persuading people to segregate garbage despite their efforts to create awareness. Says Mr Praveen S, secretary, Indiranagar 2nd Stage League, "We pooled around Rs 11,000 from the people in our area and distributed two bins and one bag to each home in the locality. But this hasn’t made much of an impact."
While he gives a thumbs up to the BBMP’s plan to fine those who don’t segregate waste at source, he wonders when it will act against the garbage contractors and pourakarmikas who mix up the waste even if it is segregated. “Why are they being allowed to get away scot- free?” he rightly demands.
Fines are the only way to make people fall in line: Mayor
Newly elected Mayor, G Padmavati hopes to find a solution to the garbage menace plaguing Bengaluru for long with micro planning, block management of waste and fines to make people fall in line. Since assuming office recently she has warned that a fine of Rs 100 could be imposed on first time offenders, who do not segregate garbage at source and of Rs 500 on second time offenders.
Ask her how fines will help achieve 100 per cent segregation of garbage at source and she asserts, "We are getting a positive response to segregation from over 50 per cent of Bengalureans, but not from the rest. People of the city have become very busy. They just throw out their garbage stuffed in a plastic cover anywhere they like and cows and stray dogs feed on it, making things worse. Such people should be fined.”
Moreover, she points out, the High Court has directed the BBMP to enforce waste segregation and impose a fine on violators. “We are in discussion with the state government and soon the violators will be fined,” she declares, explaining that under the micro-management plan she hopes to enforce soon, every 750 houses will be identified as a block for collection of segregated waste.
"This way the pourakarmikas will be able to identify the violators, who will then be fined. We plan to also work with Resident Welfare Associations and NGOs to identify those not segregating garbage at source,” she reveals.
Excerpts from an interview with newly-elected Mayor G. Padmavathi.
After taking over as Mayor, you said your main challenge was to tackle the garbage problem. Can you explain?
As the first citizen of Bengaluru, I want to free it from the garbage menace stalking it. Cities like Mysuru have earned a Clean City title and I want to make Bengaluru clean too.
How much of the garbage is segregated now and what are you hoping to achieve?
At present only 40% of the garbage is segregated. In the next 100 days I would like to see 75% of the garbage segregated at source.
You said the BBMP could fine those who did not segregate garbage. Do you think fines will make people fall in line?
Yes, we’re in discussion with the government. We’ll slap fines on violators. There are some people who learn lessons only when they are forced to pay hefty fines.
But how will you identify the violators?
As per our micro-plan, pourakarmikas will be allocated blocks to collect garbage from. This way they will be able to identify the violators. Also, we will take the help of local NGOs and RWAs to identify the offenders.
