I will not blame the BBMP alone for the current solid waste management (SWM) crisis in Bengaluru. I am not saying it is blameless, but as the stakeholders we should resist trying to make it a scapegoat every time a crisis arises. We need to stop reacting in a knee jerk manner to urban issues, be it traffic, water supply or solid waste management.
The probem of solid waste management is one of the most complex in a city as it involves every possible stakeholder, from the households to ragpickers, the informal recycling sector, the garbage transportation contractor, community organisations and NGOs involved in segregation of waste and recycling, and landfill sites, which are increasingly becoming an area of public private partnership. Each one of these stakeholders needs to play their respective roles in creating a credible solid waste management ecosystem. If something goes wrong with solid waste management in our city, each of the stakeholders must be blamed.
We cannot have simple solutions to complex problems. Unfortunately, we as the public, have not shown the patience to find and execute a complex solution to the garbage problem. Every time there is a problem, we shoot the most convenient target. Now that we are in a state of crisis, I hope that we will all hit the pause button to our reactions and act. The problem is that we have been unwilling to think and plan for the medium term. In case of solid waste management, the entire process requires a thorough analysis to arrive at a comprehensive solution for each step of the process even if it takes three to five years.
We have heard minister R. Ashok say that the choice of the landfill site was wrong to start with. Choosing a landfill site is not like buying potatoes. It must be a part and parcel of the regional master plan which should be prepared once in 15 to 20 years. But where is the Regional Master Plan for Bengaluru? The city lacks such a plan that identifies landfill sites to manage its solid waste for a period of 20 years without adversely affecting the lives of the people around them. Similarly, the entire process from generation of waste to processing and disposal needs to be thought through.
The city should develop some model ways for solid waste management at the local level and replicate them in all areas. This should include segregation of dry and wet waste at source, door-to-door collection of garbage and comprehensive recycling, getting the informal sector actively involved in collecting waste at dry waste collection centres and CBOs and involving NGOs in segregating waste at source. The entire process of managing solid waste should be handled at the local level as this will cut down on transportation cost and health risks.
No single individual or organisation can manage this task alone. Even if the BBMP were a super efficient organisation, it could not manage it alone. Solid waste management requires participation from multiple players.
—The writer is co-founder of Janaagraha