In what will be a reversal of the Solid Waste Management (SWM) strategy in Bengaluru for nearly a decade now, if it goes through, the Civic Body will likely revert to a single agency/contractor collecting all streams of waste from the doorstep under the new tenders being drafted.
Presently, wet waste and dry waste are collected by two separate agencies in two different vehicles - wet waste every day by contractors and dry waste twice a week by those managing Dry Waste Collection Centres (DWCCs). “Today we have different agencies responsible for wet waste, dry waste, sanitary waste, medical waste, construction and debris waste, animal waste and waste from bulk generators creating a multitude of agencies making it tough to hold anyone to account,” a senior Civic Official said, arguing for a single agency to collect all streams of waste.
Back in 2012, after segregation of waste at source was made mandatory by Karnataka High Court, contractors drew ire of citizens as even when households gave segregated waste, collectors poured them into one container mixing it again. This led to the experiment of DWCCs, managed by rag pickers and NGOs, being given charge of collecting dry waste in 2013, separating collection and processing of wet and dry waste. Those managing DWCCs and a section of SWM activists have opposed the reversal of this policy, raising fears that segregation levels in the city will drop again.
