Managing waste in large apartments

Arathi Manay
Daily Dump
19th February 2011

Waste management challenges

Handling roadblocks, finding potential
solutions

Using a real-life example
Brigade Millennium Mayflower
in JP Nagar 7th Phase

Arathi Manay, Daily Dump, 19th February 2011

The System – Waste collection and disposal
system established by the builder
Responsibility of managing the garbage
Volume generated
Types of garbage, Segregation
BBMP involvement
Attitude of residents


Garbage bags
Chute, through 15 floors… chute room
An investment made by the developer to give
apartments the luxury of convenient disposal
involves considerable set up costs (pump, hydraulic
doors, etc.)
Regular maintenance costs
Housekeeping staff not a part of household the
waste-disposal system
Except for cleaning the chute room


Garbage handling – the responsibility of the
Management Committee
Tenants – more than half the occupants
Volume generated is huge
At Mayflower with 220 flats, about 300 kg a day
Mixed-up waste
Garbage bags burst open with the fall
Reusable, recyclable, hazardous waste goes to
landfills


BBMP does not collect garbage from apartments
We need to make our own arrangements
Hire a BBMP-licensed contractor to carry the waste to
landfills
Manage the waste within our own premises
Residents want the comforts that they paid for
when they bought the flat
They pay a maintenance fee so that their waste is
managed by others
High turnover rate of maids and tenants


Where?

Where ever the contractor is allowed for
the day

No fixed place

Dumping site changes frequently
depending on social pressures


Dry waste segregation was introduced in BM
Mayflower in Nov 2008 through the
‘Blue Drum’ campaign

Door-to-door visits – segregation guide,
training of maids, house-keeping staff, security

Voluntary – no penalty for non-compliance


Blue drums
Collected daily
by house-keeping
Transported
to basement
Secondary
segregation
Sold to recyclers
Proceeds kept for the staff

Reinforcement
Retraining new maids, residents


E-waste kept separately
Collected by Ash recyclers


8000
7000
Average per month
6000
Over 26 months
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0


300
Average per month
250

200

150

100

50

0

Average monthly income – Rs 1,000/-

Segregation done by some residents, but not
adequate
Lots of dry waste still going down the chute

Wet waste still going to landfills


The main roadblock – the chute
The chute = roadside dustbin
Anything-anytime-anyhow disposal

Control usage of the chute to housekeeping
(maybe use it to move some of the dry waste to
the basement)
Close the chute to residents
Door-to-door collection (as is done in most
residential apartments)

Send purely wet waste (kitchen waste) to
landfills
Handle it in the vicinity – after all it is 70%
water

Different options evaluated
Scale-able to 220-250 homes
No need for large expenditure
Low running expenses


An experimental model

Composting
In a specially-designed trolley
On the terrace – good wind flow, sheltered from rain
and direct sun

Cattle-shed
Cattle edible food


Composting Trolley
Metal
4’ l x 3’ w x 3’ h
Capacity 500 kg


Compost in 50-odd days

One trolley can serve 220 homes for about 10
days, after which it can be reused after about 50
days
5 such trolleys would be required

If cattle-edible items are sent to the cattle shed
2 trolleys would suffice


I can throw anything, anyhow, anytime

Someone else will clean it up

And I will pay them for doing it


Needs bagging of the waste thus increasing
plastic usage

Untied bags and non-bagged wet waste
splutters the chute and the room

Regular maintenance, cleaning required


Grease and garbage sludge accumulates along
the chute – fire hazard
Attracts roaches, flies, snakes
Untreated waste lying for more than 24hrs
Is a health hazard
Causes foul odour everywhere near the chute
room
Unhygienic for garbage collecting workers and
residents who visit basement


Dry waste – Blue drums
E-waste – Recyclers
EPS/Thermacol – collected and disposed
separately
Cattle-edible waste segregated by about 40
volunteer homes
Collected door-to-door everyday around noon
Sent to cattle shed
Garden waste – composting trolleys
The rest – down the chute and garbage truck

The System put in place by the builder is the
one that gets accepted, by default
Changing the system to be environmentally
friendly is a big challenge
GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME

Enforcement of rules (like segregation) by an
authority (BBMP) is essential
Voluntary effort by residents is not realistic to
expect

Refrain from inclusion of chutes in buildings in India
Designate an area for waste management at the
design stage
On the ground, basement, rooftop or combination of these
Depending on the nature of the project – the total ground
area, area around the building, number of flats, height of
building, etc.
Highlight the waste management area
‘Facility’ – just as STP, generator back-up, etc.
‘Green initiative’ – at par with solar power, rain water
harvesting, etc.


Brigade (builders) have earmarked a site that
can be used for waste management by all the
blocks of Brigade Millennium
WE WILL BE ABLE TO HANDLE THE
WASTE WHERE IT IS GENERATED.

BBMP is set to enforce segregation-at-source in
Puttenahalli by insisting that apartment waste
be segregated before it leaves the premises
MAYBE THE CHUTE WILL BE FORCED TO CLOSE.


Thank You


Managing waste in large apartments

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