In the absence of strict guidelines for disposal of garbage, the residents continue to depend on private collectors
BENGALURU
Despite the government notifying authorised processors for bulk waste, many large waste generators in the city continue to hand over garbage to unauthorised collectors, prompting Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Ltd (BSWML) to step in and seek stricter enforcement. In a letter to the North and East city corporations, BSWML urged officials to ensure that apartments, tech parks, malls, and other bulk waste generators tie up only with empanelled vendors. The agency flagged that weeks after empanelment was officially announced, the situation on the ground remains unchanged, with mixed waste still being illegally collected and dumped into GBA compactors, ultimately ending up in landfills. At present, Mukka Protein Ltd is the sole empanelled vendor mapped to handle bulk waste in the North and East zones. The company operates a processing facility with the capacity to scientifically process up to 1,000 tonnes of waste per day, but compliance has been poor.
M Mohan Kumar, Managing Director of Mukka Proteins, told that resistance from apartment associations has been a major hurdle. We personally approached over 800 apartments and emailed more than 2,000 bulk generators, but only a handful came on board.
Many say the same unauthorised operators have been collecting their waste for years and they are afraid to change, he said. According to him, most of the current tie-ups are with govt offices and defence establishments. There is very little response from tech parks and apartments, he added.
Estimates shared by the processor show that North and East Bengaluru together generate 700-800 tonnes of bulk waste every day, with 60-70 percent being wet waste. While dry waste is largely picked up by informal recyclers, wet waste, often only partially segregated, gets mixed during transportation and is illegally dumped in landfills. BSWML and the empanelled vendor allege that unauthorised agencies, including some contractors already engaged in door-to-door collection, are illegally lifting bulk waste without mandatory permissions or consent for establishment. Bulk waste is being routed into GBA compactors and dumped, defeating the entire purpose of decentralised processing, a BSWML official said.