Value in waste: Compost fairs a weekly affair in city wards now
BENGALURU: Ward-level composting santhes (fairs), aimed at educating citizens about home-composting and providing a wide range of solutions, are now a weekly affair in Bengaluru.
It started when the BBMP Commissioner tried composting at home and helped conduct the first composting santhe in Sanjaynagar last month. Now, about 10 santhes have been conducted across the city and more are lined up every weekend till July . The most recent santhe was held at the Vidhana Soudha where the chief minister and other ministers endorsed composting.
Solid Waste Management Round Table member Lalitha Mondreti, who has been with every event, said composting fairs were making the otherwise niche practice a familiar household term. “Citizens are becoming aware, BBMP is giving priority to this and elected representatives are talking about it.“
According to a BBMP health official who is spearheading the movement, composting is the key to solving the city's garbage crisis. Apparently, officials and policymakers have realised that. “The main problem is managing the city's wet waste. However, it is very easy to manage it ourselves,and facilities are also available. But many people do not know about it or have doubts and need some handholding.These events do exactly that.“ Each santhe has about 30 vendors selling inexpensive starter kits to composters, gardening kits and other eco-friendly products. There are classes, samples and street plays to educate the audience. They are typically held in public parks on weekend mornings and attract walkers. They campaigners also conduct workshops for BBMP officials so they understand and support the efforts. Seema Das of Bangalore Eco Team said, “Some people are asking for composting plants to be shut down and are perplexed that we are promoting it. We believe that if all of us understand composting properly , we can prevent mismanagement.“
BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad said, “If apartments and houses can do their own composting or have decentralised composting in parks, nothing like it.More than anything else, they are about showing people how it can be done and preparing their mindsets for a decentralised system of (garbage) management,“ he said.
It started when the BBMP Commissioner tried composting at home and helped conduct the first composting santhe in Sanjaynagar last month. Now, about 10 santhes have been conducted across the city and more are lined up every weekend till July . The most recent santhe was held at the Vidhana Soudha where the chief minister and other ministers endorsed composting.
Solid Waste Management Round Table member Lalitha Mondreti, who has been with every event, said composting fairs were making the otherwise niche practice a familiar household term. “Citizens are becoming aware, BBMP is giving priority to this and elected representatives are talking about it.“
According to a BBMP health official who is spearheading the movement, composting is the key to solving the city's garbage crisis. Apparently, officials and policymakers have realised that. “The main problem is managing the city's wet waste. However, it is very easy to manage it ourselves,and facilities are also available. But many people do not know about it or have doubts and need some handholding.These events do exactly that.“ Each santhe has about 30 vendors selling inexpensive starter kits to composters, gardening kits and other eco-friendly products. There are classes, samples and street plays to educate the audience. They are typically held in public parks on weekend mornings and attract walkers. They campaigners also conduct workshops for BBMP officials so they understand and support the efforts. Seema Das of Bangalore Eco Team said, “Some people are asking for composting plants to be shut down and are perplexed that we are promoting it. We believe that if all of us understand composting properly , we can prevent mismanagement.“
BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad said, “If apartments and houses can do their own composting or have decentralised composting in parks, nothing like it.More than anything else, they are about showing people how it can be done and preparing their mindsets for a decentralised system of (garbage) management,“ he said.
