Sector 22 residents ask for composting bins

Chandigarh: The government houses resident welfare society of Sector 22 has asked UT adviser Parimal Rai for the placing of composting bins at the old-category government houses of type 10 and above.

The housing society has proposed integrated solid-waste management based on the 3R (reduce, reuse, and recycle) approach to the administration. "This system is becoming a guiding factor for managing waste more effectively and minimising the associated risks to public health and environment. Our proposal is a step towards minimising and sharing the city's solid-waste management burden," society president Vinod Vashisht said.

The association stated in its proposal that out of the 13,678 government houses in the city, almost 90% if their green waste was being generated by only 10% of the government houses of type 10 and above. In order to reduce the city's burden of disposing of and processing solid waste, the welfare society proposes that all 1,398 government houses of type 10 and above be provided with permanent wooden pallet composting triple-bins.

Usually, compost is prepared by dumping plant material such as leaves, grass clippings, and vegetable peels into a pile or a bin and letting it decompose as a result of the action of aerobic bacteria, fungi, and other organisms. This compost is used to fertilise soil. Housing society's senior joint secretary Daljeet Singh Sethi said: "The lower-category government houses can make use of the nearby composting sites proposed to be developed by the MC in the neighbourhood parks."

Retired chief engineer and Sector-43 flats resident welfare association (RWA) president Ashok Prashar said: "On the lines of rooftop solar-energy panel promotional policy, the administration can also devise a policy of supplying portable composting bins for a subsidised price to all those who wants to adopt home composting." Sector-27 RWA president Bhupinder Kaur Sandhu said: "Home composting is a good initiative and we hope the residents of bigger houses of 1 kanal and above will also adopt home composting."

Dr Soham Nagpal of Sector 16 said home composting could also be a good outdoor hobby along with a stress-reliever exercise. "We expect the municipal corporation to arrange demonstration sessions on composting techniques in various parts of the city," Sector-39 RWA president Nimi Sharma said. Municipal commissioner K K Yadav said: "The MC will look into the proposal and implement it based on its feasibility."