What’s Dry and Wet Waste? Waste Bins donated by HP to MCC totally Abused by Citizens
Mangaluru: In its fifth year, Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) has led to a paradigm shift when it comes to solid waste management. Stakeholders in cities across the country were sensitized on the importance of solid waste management – through programmes, cleanliness drives, workshops, competitions, rallies etc. It was only in its third year that an all India segregation campaign, “Har Din Do Bin” was launched on June 5, 2017. Under SBM, cities have to ensure 100 per cent source segregation within one year, which is a challenge and yet has been a game changer wherever implemented properly. But most of the cities in the country are not segregating in its true spirit, and for that, even Mangaluru too. Whom to blame, the district administration, MCC and above all, the ignorant CITIZENS!
A few months ago Hindustan Petroleum as part of Swachh Mangaluru project, donate a bunch of Dry Waste and Wet Waste Garbage bins, on order to segregate wet waste from dry waste. It was indeed a kind gesture of HP to do that kind donation, but unfortunately, their kind service to the community has been not appreciated by the people of Mangaluru, and those who come to the City. And the worst part is that not many know, what is wet waste and what is dry waste- and therefore if look around the city where these HP waste bins are placed, you’ll notice all kinds of garbage dumped into this bins. Indeed sad!
Another point is that keeping bins of that size in a City, where the population is enormous, just imagine how quick these could be full- and that’s what we are seeing everywhere. The bins placed near the entrance gate is full all the time, and no one cares to empty it, even though the garbage spills out. And especially people who come from Kerala side by train, and use the Town Hall path, where these HP bins are kept, knowingly or unknowingly dump all kinds of waste in these bins. Having said that, this morning, while I was taking pics of these bins, noticing an adult dumping all kinds of waste, I quickly approached him, and asked him why he was ignoring the wet and dry waste signs on the bins?
He replied saying that he can’t read English, so I asked him, how about the sign in Kannada- for which he said he can’t read Kannada either, ONLY Malayalam? I was speechless, but I still asked him with help from a stranger who speaks Malayalam, whether he knows the difference between dry and wet waste- for which our Malayalee visitor, said NO? Okay buddy, due to language issue you are excused. But how about the rest of the bins around the city, where our locals, either knowing English or Kannada and could very well see the signs on the bins, are abusing it. Just look at the bins placed near Hampankatta Syndicate Bank/KMC, where they are full all the time with unwanted waste.
And yet another place where these bins are kept is near the old Mallikatta Bus shelter- and now that a street food vendor has set up his eatery business very adjacent to these bins, all the leftover food/wrappers are dumped into these bins by his customers. Isn’t this vendor lucky to have these bins near his mobile canteen, to get rid of his waste?. Total abuse of the so-called ‘Wet and Dry Waste’ bins. So it looks like it is simply waste of money, and all the efforts put in by HP along with MCC pertaining to segregation, when we have ignorant citizens abusing the facility/system totally.
And in case our citizens are not aware of what is wet and dry waste, learn now. “Waste segregation” means dividing waste into dry and wet. Dry waste includes wood and related products, metals and glass. Wet waste typically refers to organic waste and are heavy in weight due to dampness. Waste can also be segregated on the basis of being biodegradable or non-biodegradable. Landfills are an increasingly pressing problem. Less and less land is available to deposit refuse, but the volume of waste is growing. As a result, segregating waste is not just of environmental importance, but also of economic concern.
In simple terms, waste segregation is the separation of wet waste and dry waste. The generation of waste is unavoidable, and the materials carried in this waste impacts human and environmental health. Naturally, waste management is something that must be carried out, and one way to do this meticulous segregation of wet and dry waste, so that dry waste can be recycled and wet waste can be composted. When we segregate waste, there is a reduction in waste that reaches landfills and occupies space. Air and water pollution rates are considerably reduced and makes it easier to apply different processes – composting, recycling and incineration can be applied to different kinds of waste.
Waste Segregation is the first step in a compliant waste management plan that will help save the environment and improve the quality of the atmosphere we live in. It really does matter which bin you put the garbage into. If done in a proper manner, waste management not only eliminates the surrounding waste but also will reduce the intensity of the greenhouse gases like methane, carbon monoxide which gets emitted from the waste accumulated. The depth of the existing landfills will be also curbed, thereby cutting down whatever is toxic to the environment. The number of fossil fuels will also get reduced in this manner, leading to a cleaner and a greener environment.
So Team Mangalorean makes a kind request to all the citizens of this educational hub to make use of these HP Wet and Dry Waste bins WISELY and not ABUSIVELY? Thank You, on behalf of HP and MCC.