BENGALURU: Even while environmentally conscious Bengalureans have taken to bulk composting in apartment complexes, they are facing the challenge of dealing with excess compost. While they are able to use a part for it for gardening, a significant amount still remains unused.
“Our complex has 220 flats, and we get around 70 kg of compost that’s generated from wet waste every day. Of this, we manage to use three-fourths to one tonne of compost for our apartment garden per month, but we are left with one tonne, which is a, truck load to store. We find it hard to get in touch with buyers,” said Valli Srinivasan, a resident of Bhuvana Greens in Harlur.
“There would be people with farms but we have no connections with them. We invest Rs 36,000 per month on raw material and workers who are trained in making compost, but we hardly get anything back,” Srinivasan added.
Sunil G, a resident of Oceanus Vista in Kasavanahalli, complained of a similar problem. “We generate two tonnes of compost from wet waste per month, of which 250-400 kg of compost powder is used by residents for gardening. We tried to speak to nurseries and other apartments to sell the remaining compost but the response was not good,” said Sunil, talking about how they were not ready to spend money on the purchase and also found the transportation cost to be too high.
“Last year, one farmer from purchased 5 kg from us but did not come back after that. We spend Rs 10,000 per month. In fact, if we gave our wet waste to an empanelled BBMP vendor, we would spend only half the money. The BBMP or state government needs to create a mechanism, wherein farmer groups in need can be connected with bulk generators,” he added.
Anil Chinniah, a resident of Koramangala, spearheads dry leaf composting in the area, and also wants government intervention in its management. “We generate 30 tonnes of compost from leaf litter per month, of which 20 tonnes get used by independent homes. Over the last four months, we have accumulated 50 tonnes of excess compost, which we are not able to find takers for. A government initiative must be put in place to connect us to farmers in nearby areas and facilitate economically viable transportation,” Chinniah said.
The lucky ones
Vikram Rai and other residents of Brigade Millenium in JP Nagar are among the lucky few. “We generate 1,500 kg of compost per month, of which 100 kg is given back to us for free. Another 100 kg can be bought by residents for Rs 5 per kg and vendors take the remaining compost,” Vikram said, adding, “BBMP and SWM experts can push for composting, but demand needs to match supply.”