Compactor beda, composting beku: Sanjaynagar residents

In a bid to not send out wet waste from their wards, RMV Layout residents welfare association have begun a ‘Compactor beda, composting beku’ campaign.

Through the campaign, the residents of RMV Layout and Sanjaynagar, in collaboration with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP), have installed composting units on every street to convert the waste into manure. The residents have decided to compost all the wet waste in their locality and use the manure for gardening.

Close to 200 people took part in the inaugural event on Saturday 24 and learned about the techniques of composting.

In this pilot project, called ‘Namma Beediyalle Composting’, composting units will be installed in 15 lanes in RMV 2nd stage. “The civic workers will dump wet waste in these units along with dry leaves and coco peat,” said Vignan Gowda, Sanjaynagar resident.

“The main aim is to educate the people about the importance of composting waste on our own streets. This will help in reducing the amount of garbage in the landfills,” said Gowda.

Each composting unit costs Rs 70,000 and Radha Krishna ward corporator M Anand has promised to fund for the remaining units in the locality.

The concept of street composting is not new, said a senior BBMP official who did not wish to be named. “Some of the residents here were already doing this in their homes and the concept has been extended to the locality so that they can compost their own waste within the area,” said the official.

Commending that this as the way forward, the official said, “Composting is one of the best means to reduce blackspots and reduce the amount of garbage that will be sent to landfills. If this becomes a success, then the project can be extended to all wards in the city.”