Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLRM): Towards Integrated and sustainable step by Udupi.

Relevance: mains: G.S paper III: Environment

Introduction

• About 50 Gram have Panchayats in Udupi district of Karnataka have a solid and Liquid Resource Management (SLRM) Centre, each equipped with a specially designed tricycle/vehicle that the local Self Help Group (SHG) use for collection of household waste. The system works like clockwork, contributing to making the villages look clean and beautiful.

About SLRM

• SLRM is a method by which garbage is converted into a source of income, while creating many employment opportunities. Waste collected from the households is brought to the centre for processing in a scientific manner. The project is a part of the swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G) ODF (open defecation free) plus activities.
• Survey: Initially, a baseline survey was carried out to understand sanitation practices, methods of waste disposal followed at households and health effects encountered owing to unscientific methods. Thereafter, a draft “Solid Waste (Resources) Management” by law was prepared at the district level and sent to GPs for effective implementation of waste management, complete with user-fee collection system and plastic ban initiatives.
• Awareness building: At the outset, communities were provided awareness about the need to segregate waste and how to go about doing so. Thereafter SLRM training programme was first organised in July 2017.
• Responsibility of households: Each household has been given two dustbins, i.e., green and red to segregate waste as wet and dry, which is collected daily. For scattered households a “bora” bag has been provided to store only dry waste which will be collected once a week. Instructions have been given to wrap sanitary napkins and medical waste in newspaper separately and marking it in red and blue colours respectively for identification and safe disposal.
• Process: Now, waste is collected twice a day once every 12 hours so that organic waste would remain fresh, clean and easy to handle. Instead of trucks, tricycles, goods carrying vehicles or E-rickshaws are used to collect the waste. In this project, manpower is a major resource as only humans can differentiate the categories of wastes clearly.
• Management of Organic Waste: Organic waste is further segregated and fresh vegetables and fruits are taken out, washed and fed to cattle twice a day. A cow shed would eventually be set up close to the SLRM Centre, or vegetables would be sent to nearby cow shelters. The remaining organic waste is mixed with cow dung slurry to make compost, while egg shells which are rich in calcium are dried, powdered and used for gardening or sold for the same purpose, Waste flowers that are collected from the flower shops and marriage halls are sold to Rangoli powder manufacturers.
• Grey Water: Grey water generated in centres is used for growing Canna plants which white absorb waste water play a vital role in liquid waste management Growing of those flowering plants encouraged at households, panchayats, urban local bodies, etc.
• Management of Inorganic Waste: Inorganic sterns from the red bucket are segregated 17 categories in SLRM centres such as: pet bottles, plastic items, plastic covers, paper, card board, metal, glasses, e-wastes etc. and sold to authorized recyclers at value added price. Even non-recyclable items are stored separately and sent to cement factories for safe disposal.
• Quantity of waste generated: Based on data from 50 SLRM centres of Udupi district, on an average 10 tons of waste per day/300 tons of waste per month is processed scientifically.
• Villages covered: Upto January 2018, out of a total 158 GPs in Udupi, 50 Gram Panchayats have initiated SLRM centres, of which 23 centres are collecting both wet and dry waste daily and 27 centres are collecting dry waste once a week.
• Infrastructure: Gram Panchayats that have commenced the SLRM project have built a new shed for the purpose. The other GPs have put to use old abandoned and unused buildings after renovation. Each centre comprises of a washing unit to clean segregated waste; one tricycle or one motor vehicle; a compost pit, safety equipment and tools for segregation.
• Employment generated: Currently, around 200 people are employed under SLRM project in Udupi. Having found that women are more patient, reliable and better suited to communicate with women who normally are in charge of waste disposal, the district administration have appointed women SHGs to take care of SLRM. Their involvement helps supplement their family’s income. Money earned from sellingrecyclable items and user fee collection is used to run the SLRM Centres.
• Outcome: Since the commencement of the SLRM project, villages appear cleaner as people have stopped dumping waste on the roadside. Over 90% of households and commercial organizations properly segregate waste into organic and inorganic items. Further, the practice of throwing waste in public places and unscientific ways of burning waste, or throwing meat waste into rivers surrounding the village has been minimised.

Way forward

• Income is being generated out of waste items which hitherto people would throw out. In addition, roadside dustbins have been removed so that sanitation is maintained.
• Earlier, people were not willing to work in waste management, owing to unscientific methods of handling waste and because of bad odour and nature of work. Today, however, SHG members, youth and others are keen to join SLRM projects which have created new employment opportunities, enabling them to earn their own income. The success of project commissioned in the district has changed the views of the public towards waste management programmes.
• Across the district, Green protocol by which use of single use plastic and disposables is minimised is encouraged at all public meetings, ceremonies, schools, anganwadis, government offices, etc.