Mumbai not ‘wasting’ its breath

Garbage is a widely discussed issue in the city.No part of the city is free from its grip; may it be the slums, chawls or posh areas like Malabar Hill or Cuffe Parade. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, unlike municipalities in other states, seems quite serious about tackling the issue. However, while they throw up grand ideas, they rarely see them through. Segregation is one such area that the civic body should look into. When the BMC declared its plans for segregation and composting, the city backed it but, the authorities have not been able to achieve substantial results. While city’s housing societies segregate dry and wet waste, BMC’s garbage trucks dump them in the same compartment. Some of the societies have also taken up the task of converting wet waste into compost. Vasant Patil, a city-based activist, raised questions over composting on several public platforms. “Composting needs an expert, most of the societies don’t know how to compost. There are organic waste converters in the market that only burn the garbage. Resultant manure is a big issue as societies do not know what to do with the manure.”

The BMC claims that segregation increased from 53 to 67 per cent in the past year. However, citizens doubt the figures. “We are improving our work on waste management. Currently, 96 vehicles collect dry waste from across the city. The civic body is planning to add more vehicles to its fleet. Even in the new contracts taken up, there are compactors which collect dry, wet and e-waste separately,” a civic official said.

“These type of compactors are already in service in other cities but, labourers are often not sure which compactor is well-suited for a certain kind of garbage,” Nitai Mehta from the Praja Foundation said.

The civic body also faces hurdles in composting. As per official data, the BMC identified 3,374 bulk generators (producing 100 kilogramme or more garbage per day). Out of this number, only 1,463 bulk generators (merely 43 per cent) segregate and compost. On a brighter note, some housing societies like Vijay Nagar in Andheri, started the zero garbage project even before the BMC initiated its campaign.

Thirty days of composting

There are societies across the city that install a machine and expect to get manure within a day. Composting requires 30 days. “In 2017, the civic body collected 9,500 tonne of garbage. Thankfully, the figure has come down to 7,200 tonne. Around a 1000 tonne of garbage was sent for composting and another 300 metric tonne was knocked off at the segregation centre,” a solid waste management officer attached to the BMC said.

Man & manure: Struggle of a kind

It is absolutely okay for the BMC to ask housing societies to turn garbage into compost. The problem is, housing societies don’t know what to do with large amounts of manure generated. 

A few months ago, the civic body promised to collect manure from societies and dump it close to the Deonar or Kanjurmarg landfills so that farmers can take it for free. This plan remained only on paper as no farmer came forward. As per rules, manure must be tested in a laboratory and have components and quantity mentioned on its packaging which is no easy task.

“Compost produced by most housing societies is only burnt garbage. The BMC has no clue on how to use it” activist Vasant Patil said. The SWM officials have agreed to Patil’s conjecture. “We asked Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers (RCF) to collect the manure but, they refused. Every society is producing manure using different techniques. We are advising societies to use it in their gardens or give it to neighbouring gardens.” said Vishwas Shankarvar, Deputy Municipal Commissioner of Solid Waste Management Department, BMC.

Solution from afar: BMC looks beyond boundaries

To manage dry waste more scientifically, the BMC invited global expression of interest (EOI) from seven countries to develop dry waste centres. These centres will be meant for collection, transportation, processing and disposal of dry waste generated in the city.

The civic body has sent letters to consulates of seven countries namely Finland, UK, US, Netherlands, Germany, Italy and France. The city generates around 1,100  metric tonne of dry waste, of which hardly 100 metric tonne gets processed. The remaining goes down the drain or lies unattended.

The BMC has proposed to set up six dry waste segregation centres. Selected firms will set up plants at these locations. The locations are Colaba, Ghatkopar, Deonar, Bandra, Malvani and Kandivali. Since the Mulund dumping ground has been closed and Deonar has reached its saturation point, the BMC has been looking for another site. The State government has alredy allotted a plot for dumping at Taloja in Navi Mumbai. The MMRDA had also shown interest to allott 66 hectare of land in Taloja. 

The civic body has also proposed around 32.77 hectare of land near Airoli bridge at Mulund (east), to process municipal solid waste. The BMC had received 141.77 hectare at Kanjur plots in 2005, from the state, after the Bombay High court order. 

While private sweepers collect garbage from houses and take them for composting, many societies have machines to incinerate waste

SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT WITNESSES STEADY GROWTH

The BMC claims that segregation increased from 53 to 67 per cent in the past year

9,500 metric tonne – Waste collected by BMC in 2017

7,200 metric tonne – Waste collected by BMC in 2018

1,000 metric tonne – Garbage sent for composting everyday

RUBBISH ITINERARY

• Door-to-door collection: While a private sweeper collects waste from houses in buildings, a municipal labour collects garbage from slums. BMC collects waste from industries and restaurants. (Ideally door-to-door collection should be 100%. In reality, the civic body collects waste from 99% houses)
   
• A transportation vehicle collects garbage from different societies and from garbage bins
   
• Ideally, dry, wet and e-waste should be collected separately. BMC provides separate vehicles only in some parts of the city
   
• Although societies segregate waste, BMC’s transport vehicle mixes it up, collects garbage in one compartment 
   
• The garbage is then transported to segregation stations. It is either sent to refuse transfer stations at Mahalakshmi or Kurla or it directly goes to the dumping grounds at Deonar, Kanjurmarg or Mulund
   
• Ideally, garbage should be segregated before being sent to the dumping ground
   
• In reality, there are only 35 centres where workers separate metal and paper from the garbage
   
• Ideally, state’s policy should be zero garbage —not a single paper should go to the dumping ground
   
• The BMC claimed 1,000 MT garbage is reduced due to composting at societies; 300 MT is reduced due to dry waste segregation at centres

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

98.83% – House-to-house garbage collection

73% – Garbage segregation

3,374 – Units that generate garbage in bulk. The amount ranges between 100 and 150 kilogramme