BENGALURU: In a bid to address the issue of unauthorised garbage transfer points becoming dumping spots, the city’s civic agency will soon begin setting up mini transfer stations.“When garbage is being transferred from auto-tippers to compactors, some of it gets left on the road and the spot soon becomes a garbage dump,” Sarfaraz Khan, Joint Commissioner, Solid Waste Management Department, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), said.
“At times, if the compactor is full, it has to make a second trip later, leaving the trash collected on the roads. The mini transfer stations will involve two portable compactors inside a shed that will crush the waste and in the process, the leachate (liquid waste) will also get removed through an outlet,” Khan explained, adding that 30-40 per cent waste is liquid or moisture that needs to be filtered out.
“The existing compactors can handle only six-seven tonnes of waste but the portable ones can handle almost twice the amount,” Khan said. While one compactor will be transported to the waste processing centre, another compactor will remain at the site, in case more waste is collected in a particular ward by the auto-tippers.
“We will station 100 portable compactors in 50 locations, of which 30 have been fixed so far,” a department official said. “Wards which see more waste generation are given priority. If two wards have less waste, one transfer shed can cater to both of them,” the official added.
In total, 28 tonnes can be collected in one shed. This will ensure no black spots are created. People who have missed garbage collection in the morning can also come and drop off the waste at the shed. “We are beginning with 10 locations simultaneously in the next three months, and will gradually increase it to 30,” the official told CE.
The target is to have the 50 sheds up and running in six months. A sum of `240 crore has been allocated for the project, of which `75 crore is the capital cost while the remaining is meant for operation and maintenance. The locations were selected in coordination with ward corporators and officials of state pollution control board. Some of the wards which fall under the first 30 locations are Singasandra, Begur, Arakere, Anjanapura, Vasantapura, Jeevanbheemanagar, Radhakrishna Temple, Domlur, Thanisandra, Gandhinagar, KR Market, JC Road, Koramangala and Doddanekundi.