Proactive citizens, private agencies help ease wet waste management process in Mysuru

Mysuru: ‘Taalidavanu Baaliyanu’, goes a popular Kannada proverb. Rendered in English, it reads, ‘He who waits, triumphs’. That wet waste management in Mysuru is today not the colossal problem it was till a few years ago bears out the enduring wisdom of these words. When the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) asked citizens to segregate waste at home, not many were hopeful of the initiative yielding desirable results. However, heightened awareness among citizens, and determination to do their bit towards solving the ever-growing problem of waste management has resulted in making the task less onerous for the MCC.
Mysuru generates around 420 tonnes of waste on a daily basis. In the wake of MCC mandating segregation of waste at source, nearly 60% of the households within the civic body’s limits are found to be following the rule. Pourakarmikas are now collecting dry and wet waste on alternate days from all houses.
MCC health officer Dr DG Nagaraju said that several private organisations had evinced interest in collecting wet waste, and storing them. “These organisations are collecting it for compost, pigsties, et al. They collect wet waste from establishments that account for waste in copious volumes. We will register all these organisations collecting wet waste so we can monitor them,” said Nagaraj.
He added that, besides helping them keep a record of the amount of wet waste generated in the city, registration would ensure that the garbage is not being disposed of in an illegal manner. “We recently seized a vehicle that was transporting wet waste illegally. We found that the vehicle was being used to unload garbage in an open space,” Nagaraj told TOI.
Residents of the city living in apartment complexes admitted to being approached by private companies offering unfailing and regular collection of waste, with just the one rider – total segregation at source. “There is no payment involved, only the guarantee of regular collection of garbage. We think it is a good idea. The only trouble is that these agencies are not interested in collecting dry waste,” said Smitha NS, a resident of Krishnamurthypuram.
BS Chidambar, director of HUMVERM, which operates a vermicomposting unit in Halekesare, told TOI, “We have obtained permission to collect waste for our unit from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board. We are, however, not collecting waste from households. We purchase wet waste that is available on the market. Our unit has been functioning for the past year.”
BS Chidambar, director, HUMVERM company which is operating a vermicompost unit in Halekesare of the city informed that they collect the wet waste to prepare vermicompost. "We are operating a vermicompost unit with the permission of the state pollution control board. But we are not involved in door to door collection. We collect wet waste from the market. We are adding value addition to the wet waste and selling," he said.