Now Organic Waste Converter in Malleshwaram Market

by May 12, 2010 Environment

BBMP decided to pilot the project in Malleshwaram Market after Malleshwaram Swabhimaana Initiative (MSI) initiated the idea.

BBMP has installed an Organic Waste Converter (OWC) in  Malleswaram Market a couple of weeks ago as part its project to renovate the market. The market now has a system that manages all waste that is generated within the market. The OWC cost around Rs 22 lakhs.

OWC can process one ton of waste every day. Pic: Vani Murthy.

The OWC is a machine that processes wet organic waste by employing aerobic microbial decomposition. The organic waste is churned into a homogenised; odour free output through a bio-mechanical process. This output is left to cure in baskets for stabilisation where aerobic decomposition takes place.The final product is healthy organic compost that is a vital nutrient for farming. The OWC has been on a trial run and the market has to give only segregated organic waste to this facility.

BBMP decided to pilot the project in Malleshwaram market after the Resident Welfare Association (RWA) of Malleshwaram, Malleshwaram Swabhimaana Initiative (MSI) initiated the idea. In September 2008, Dr Meenakshi Bharat of MSI and N S Ramakath of Kumara park RWA met the then Additional Commissioner, Sriram Reddy (BBMP West) and introduced the OWC as a very good concept for the market.

These baskets store the processed waste (wet waste mixed with saw dust) till they mature into organic compost. Pic: Vani Murthy.

MSI has been working on spreading waste management and source segregation programmes in Malleshwaram for more than two years and has been looking to find solutions for bulk waste-generators such as markets.

The Malleswaram MLA Dr Ashwath Narayan has taken keen interest in this project and has successfully got it going for all Bangalore to see and replicate. The members of the MSI went around the market along with the health officials of BBMP and the newly elected Corporator, Manjunath Raju to create awareness about the facility and requesting the traders to segregate their waste.  ⊕

Sections:

About Vani Murthy

Vani is a Malleswaram resident, passionate about zero waste management.
Read more by Vani Murthy

Comments:

  1. John Daniel says:
    May 28, 2010 at 5:30 am

    Great Move……..
    Hats off to RWA, RSI, Dr. Ashwath Narayan and to all involved.

    GBP

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Similar Story

CIDCO’s new flamingo study raises questions on Navi Mumbai airport safety, wetland future

by June 8, 2026 Environment
The Bombay Natural History Society had earlier pointed out that protecting wetlands and ensuring aviation safety should go hand in hand.

The City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO)'s decision to appoint Australian aviation consultancy Avisure to study bird movement around the Navi Mumbai International Airport has raised fresh questions about the future of Navi Mumbai's wetlands. The agency has cited the ongoing study as grounds to defer legal protection for DPS Flamingo Lake, arguing that no irreversible decision should be taken until the assessment of bird-related aviation risks is complete. But bird movement around the airport is not being studied for the first time. Findings of BNHS More than a decade ago, the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) was…

Continue reading

Similar Story

Save Mumbai Mangroves campaign: Who really benefits from the coastal road?

by June 5, 2026 Environment
Mangroves are being cut in Mumbai even as the world observes Environment Day. Watch this video to understand citizens' concerns regarding the Coastal Road project.

"We are literally risking our lives with floods. We are a coastal city. To mess around with mangroves is digging your own grave," says Pooja Domadia of Save Mumbai Mangroves, a campaign born in the wake of the decision to construct the Versova-Bhayandar Coastal Road in Mumbai. This mega project is going to impact 45,000 mangroves. The cutting of the mangroves has already begun to make way for the 26.3 km Coastal Road. In March this year, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition challenging the Bombay High Court's go-ahead for the project. But concerned Mumbaikars are not giving up. Save…

Continue reading