SWM Citizen Initiatives

This is a story of how a 140-family community became waste-sensitive and is continuing to be so. Sobha Quartz is a residential apartment complex in Bellandur, Bengaluru. I live here. ‘KasaMuktha Bellandur’, a citizen initiative for solid waste management, has made all the changes possible here. Mine is a very responsible community of 140 families, who follow the 2Bin1Bag method of segregation. Door-to-door campaigning have helped us help convince defaulting residents to segregate and monitor the compliance of community members. We send regular emails and updates to keep up their motivation and interest. Our team consists of passionate and like-minded women and men (many include working professionals) who are trying to make…

The Karnataka Composting Development Corporation (KCDC) has decided to serve a notice to Terra Firma Biotechnologies Pvt Ltd, on cancellation of the agreement for supplying vermicompost, after the issue of garbage being sold as vermicompost came into light. A citizen and a Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) official spotted garbage being burnt in a site near Sarjapur Road in Bengaluru, at Choodasandra in Chikkanayakanahalli area. They were shocked to see that the sieved fine garbage powder was being filled into bags labelled ‘vermicompost’ with the name of KCDC on it. Citizen Matters had carried an exclusive story on this…

A screenshot of the Mandur countdown timer as on September 4th, 10:20 am. Less than 57 days for the Mandur landfill to shut down. The government seems to have no visible plan as to how to handle the piles of garbage that will still need to go somewhere. The people supposed to be on top of the situation are still waiting for the system to evolve, by when we will probably see the evolution of a new species from tons of rotting garbage! India does not have excess of space for landfills like the US or some other countries. Landfills…

A group of ten children, was seen cleaning up a dirty plot in BTM Layout on Ramzan . They managed to pick twelve large bags of trash. Here is their story. Two 16-year-olds, Vivek and Adhesh from Sri Kumaran’s Children’s Home started Bangalore Trash Mob as a social action project for schools, and this has now become an ongoing community service with the help of their friends. Despite being busy with board exams, they found time to conduct two mobs last year. On Ramzan holiday, while a majority of children spent time with their gadgets, hung around in malls or…

This article intends to understand how discarded vegetables and fruits in supermarkets of Bengaluru can be provided to cattle rather than letting them wastefully rot to become a breeding ground for diseases in rainy days. Common vendor and big marts inefficiently handle vegetables/ fruits rather than utilising them better. They don't know how it can be prevented from rotting. Many a times they simply sell the rotting stuff at lower costs to consumers who can't afford higher prices. In most big retail marts, fruits like apples are often concealed by covering them with labels/stickers, by applying wax at the places…

  In mid 2013, deeply troubled by the wasted condition of their beloved city, when a group of concerned citizens got together to decode the garbage matrix, little did they expect that less than a year down the line, they would have so much cause for celebration. Their experiment in segregation at source developed into a winning formula, garnering unprecedented popularity as it moved on. Today, this simple formula has translated into saving over 291 trees, 1.4 lakh units of electricity, 1174 liters of fuel and 617 cubic meters of landfill area. Think of how Bangalore could be transformed if…

Before clean-upStudents marching with postersStudents painting Students interacting with shopkeepersStudents marching with postersAfter clean-upThe little champions! ‹ › $(document).ready(function(){ $('.carousel .carousel-inner .item').first().attr('class', 'active item');}); On February 20th 2014, members of Civic Rangers and Star Revolutionaries of the CMCA and Civic Clubs of JSS Public School, HSR Layout in Bengaluru, conducted a campaign at the HSR layout BDA Complex on Solid Waste Management. The aim was to make the complex a litter-free zone and spread awareness among the shopkeepers on the importance of segregation at source. Students call for action The seed for the campaign was sown during one of the…

What is KASA MUKTHA? The Karnataka Chief Minister launched the initiative in 22 Wards on July 24, 2013 to solve Bangalore's 'garbage problem'. He promised a Kasa Muktha (Garbage-Free) Bengaluru in 6 months (by Jan 24, 2014). The 'garbage problem' is being addressed at 3 levels:a) Segregation of garbage – by the citizenb) Processing of segregated garbage – by the BBMPc) Elimination of BLACK SPOTS (or open garbage dumps) Why focus on BLACK SPOTS? This citizen-driven pilot focused only on eliminating Black Spots. The BLACK SPOT problem is not just a garbage problem – it affects public health, sanitation, pedestrian…

I am staying in a complex called Purva Panorama on B G Road Bangalore where we have 650 apartments. The time when no one was bothered or thought of doing segregation, we, Purva Panoramites, were way ahead in the process of segregation. We took our first baby step of Solid Waste Management in June 2011, right after a beautiful presentation by N S Ramakanth in our complex. Although there were not too many people present in the meeting as usual, we didn't waste time. We started  the project with just a few people in our team. Me, S.Venkatesh Kini,  Alok…

Some call him an advisor, while some others call him a gentleman who has solutions for all waste-related worries. At the age of 76, N S Ramakanth goes from house to house in Bengaluru, teaching not only residents and pourakarmikas but also the BBMP officials how to segregate waste and maintain it till it reaches recycling centres. N S Ramakanth interacting with Anjum Parvez, KSRTC MD, during the installation of dust bins in Majestic. Pic courtesy: Soild Waste Management Round Table Facebook page He is known for his infectious ways of talking to people and giving them ideas on zero…