BENGALURU: Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited’s (BSWML) DClutter app has witnessed over 5,000 downloads since its launch on May 16. It has already received nearly 500 requests to collect bulky items like sofas, cots and other old unused items, which the usual garbage collectors don’t collect and eventually end up on the road sides and footpaths.
BSWML Chief Executive Officer Karee Gowda said BSWML vehicles would reach the locations pinned on the app to collect the items at the doorsteps free of cost.
“As of now, we have planned to collect bulky items only once a week. All the received requests will be attended to on May 23”, he said. Those items which can be recycled would be sent to authorised recyclers, while the rest would be sent to waste to energy plants, Gowda said.
An official from BSWML said that with people having more income at their disposal keep upgrading their furniture, cots, and tables. “The regular scrap dealers accept household items that are of value to them, like iron and steel, leaving residents with no other option but to discard their useless items. During the night, they dispose of them quietly at places convenient for them, leading to environmental concerns and affecting the aesthetics of the city,” he said.
People welcomed the initiative, stating that the issue has been there for a long time and the government had come up with a solution to address it. Some netizens who downloaded DCluter complained that the app was very basic and it kept loading. They complained that the app was launched in a hurry without being fully prepared.