BENGALURU: Just like with your old newspapers and used milk sachets, you can soon earn some money with your wet waste. Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike is setting up compost purchasing centres in all the 198 wards where citizens can sell their compost.
In its budget the BBMP had stated that educating citizens on converting wet waste into compost is an important agenda this year, for which they have earmarked Rs 2 crore.
An official source said, “We have started organising compost ‘santhe’ (gathering) every week. We have completed santhe at seven places including Sanjaynagar, BTM Layout and Nandini Layout. Here we educate people on composting. We invite vendors who sell compost-making pots, leaf shredding machines, vertical garden kit and liquid fertilisers.”
BBMP Joint Commissioner (solid waste management) Sarfaraz Khan told Express that BBMP had tied up with the Agriculture Department to supply compost to them. He added that if people start composting, they will segregate waste at source. “This in turn will reduce the burden on us for disposing waste. Decentralised way of disposing waste will reduce our transportation cost,” he said.
Swaroopa Venkatesh, a resident of Nagarbhavi, said this is a welcome move. But referring to BBMP’s announcement in its budget where it said that two bins will be given to each house, she said that instead of bins they should sell compost pots at nominal rates or give it free.
Anjali Sriram, a resident of Hanumathnagar, however, says it is not that easy to segregate waste. “We stay in a one BHK apartment. I cannot keep wet waste inside my house for too many days,” she said.
However, apartment dwellers are happy. “We started composting long ago. Now that the BBMP has come forward to start purchasing centres, we can sell it,” said Anirudh Srinivas, a resident of SLV Enclave apartments at Basavanagudi.