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4. A case study- environmental audit of MSWM in Bangalore city

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The city of Bangalore (12.97°N and 77.56°E), the state capital of Karnataka is located on the southern part of the Deccan Plateau at the border of two other South Indian states, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. At an elevation of 900 m, it is known for its mild, salubrious climate. Since the 1980s, Bangalore has enjoyed the reputation of being one of the fastest growing cities in Asia (Dittrich, 2004). The Bangalore metropolitan area covers an area of 223 sq km, and is the fifth largest city in India. However, with a burgeoning population and the increasing necessities of the Information Technology (IT) sector, the local authorities are not able to provide the necessary services like solid waste management, water supply, road maintenance, etc., to a satisfactory level. The authorities however have taken initiatives and measures to achieve compliance with regulations and reduce complaints from citizens, especially in the MSWM sector. The case study would help to identify techniques suitable for the present scenario, the lacunae or the loopholes in the adopted methods and the possible alternatives.

The Bangalore City Corporation (BCC), which has 100 wards within its municipal jurisdiction, has a population of 4,292,223 accounting for 75.48% of the total population of Bangalore Urban Agglomeration of which 2,240,956 are males and 2,051,267 are females. The decadal growth rate of population for the decade 1991–2001 for Bangalore City is as high as 61.36%. This high growth rate can be attributed not only to the extension of the municipal limits of Bangalore City but also to the ever-increasing population.

The amount of waste generated in Bangalore city varies from 1700 MT/day to 2300 MT/day and the composition of waste is given in Table 2. The Bangalore Metropolitan Area is, on the whole, divided into 30 ranges and 100 Revenue wards under the jurisdiction of Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP). BMP is responsible for the SWM policy, setting up targets and objectives. Revenue wards are further divided into 294 health wards for proper management of the sanitation functions. Out of these 294 health wards 112 are managed by BMP, while 182 wards have been assigned to private agencies on contract basis.

A list of necessities was listed in a checklist with regard to the specific target and the presence and absence of each was marked for MSWM auditing. Site survey was done in seven representative sample wards (Shivajinagar, Malleswaram, Koramangala, Indian Institute of Science campus (IISc), Hindustan Machine Tools colony (HMT), Airport Road and Chikpet). A checklist was prepared prior to the visit to check the presence or absence of techniques used, safety measures adopted, compliance with regulatory measures, and the pollution prevention system adopted. Interviews with health Inspectors, workers and lorry drivers were done at the ward level. Discussions with range health officers, zonal health officers, the chief health officer and the special commissioner helped in understanding the structure and management of the system, which helped to understand the objectives, strategies, success, failure of strategies and the issues faced while implementing strategies. The site surveys and ward level interviews helped to verify the process and to identify the lacunae in each functional element. Site visits to the Karnataka Compost Development Authority, Terra Firma Biotechnologies, Betahalli dump yard, K.R. Puram dump yard and the quarry site in Bomanhalli were done during the study to understand waste processing and disposal. The current MSWM is explained in detail in Figure 1.

4.1 Collection

The most common method of collection in Bangalore city is door-to-door collection, followed by community bin collection. In 2003, the door-to-door collection method was implemented in 60 health wards. As per the BMP, all wards in the city are supposed to have door-to-door collection and all the community bins have been removed. However, during the site survey, it was observed that many of the wards still have community bins that are in a very dilapidated state. A large quantity of organic waste is generated from 12 commercial vegetable markets. This waste is collected using separate trucks every morning and evening.
         The waste collected in pushcarts from lanes is transferred to a truck at a meeting point called a synchronisation point. The truck arrives at the designated point at a specified time and place. The waste is transported to the disposal site by means of a large capacity tipper truck, and in a few wards by a small capacity tipper truck or dumper placers. The truck is covered with a mesh and a polythene sheet to prevent scattering. Currently, Bangalore city has no transfer stations for intermediate storage of waste and intermediate segregation of waste.

4.2 Processing of wastes

The Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC) was one of the 11 composting units set up in 1975, based on the technology suggested by WHO (2002). Within a year, 10 of these units had to be closed, because the technology suggested by WHO was unable to successfully handle unsegregated Indian waste for composting. Also the usage of crushing and grinding machines caused problems while selling the compost because the quality was poor due to the existence of glass splinters and other non-biodegradable material. In the 1970s, KCDC processed 50–60 tons of mixed waste per day. By 2002 the capacity was expanded to 150 tons/day. Currently the units process 250 tons/day of mixed waste, plus 50 tons/day of market waste, which is collected using vehicles owned by KCDC.

4.3 Disposal

City waste is disposed off at Betahalli (Mavallipuram) dump yard situated 18 km north west of Bangalore city. The waste is brought in by the municipal and contract lorries. This waste is dumped in the yard in the form of a heap. There are three JCB’s (Front End Loaders) in the dump yard for waste levelling. The waste is sprayed with Effective Microorganisms (EM) solution, covered with a 10 cm layer of debris and sprayed with water after levelling. The solution used for spraying is prepared by mixing 4 litres of EM solution with 8 kg of molasses or jaggery and 150 litres of water. After mixing it is allowed to stand for 7–8 days, after which the pH reduces to 3.4. The EM stock solution consists of actinomycetes, photosynthetic bacteria, and yeast, Lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus sp., Streptococcus sp., Streptomyces sp., Rhodopseudomonas sp., Saccharomyces sp., Propionibacterium sp.), which speed up the degradation process and reduce the volume, the flies and the odour. The observations made on the site are:

• a large number of rag pickers collect recyclable waste from the landfill and pay a small amount to have access to the waste
• there is a recycling dealer in the dump yard who buys the recyclable material from the rag pickers and there is one dealer on the way to the dump yard who buys the recyclable waste from the lorry driver
• the levelling of MSW after dumping is not carried out efficiently due to fewer number of front-end loaders
• the foul odour was strong and could be inhaled at long distances
• large number of flies, birds and stray dogs
• there is emission of methane gas from the dump yard, due to which the waste can be easily set on fire
• there is always a queue of at least 5–10 Lorries waiting to unload; this is due to the lack of number of front-end loaders to level the MSW
• this dump yard has no fencing, weigh bridge or no proper approach roads.

The stakeholders and their responsibilities.

The MSWM system and the relationship among the stakeholders are depicted in Figure 2.

Various stakeholders are

• Ministry of Environment and Forests is responsible for all of the environmental policies at the national level, including the management of waste. The Ministry has an overview of all the activities of the MSWM sector and makes sure that it is performed well.
• Central Pollution Control Board keeps a check on all the activities that have potential to pollute the environment, which includes the monitoring of the MSWM in the country. It has divisions in each state that report to CPCB on the environmentally hazardous activities in the state, the actions taken to check them and the improvements made by the industries and public towards a cleaner environment (CPCB, 1998).
• Karnataka Pollution Control Board keeps a check on all the activities that have the potential to pollute the environment, which includes the monitoring of the MSWM in the state. It reviews the Environmental Impact Assessment carried out by the agencies prior to the construction of a landfill site, installation of an incinerator or any other processing plant. It carries out public participation meetings to make the public aware of the proposed project and its benefits. Public participation is especially important so that once the project is started there should not be any agitation against the project.
• Bangalore Mahanagara Palike is responsible for management policy, setting up the targets and objectives. They are responsible for managing the solid waste in the city and are answerable to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board. They also have the authority to privatise the solid waste management sector.
• Organisational Structure of the Health Department. The hierarchy of the Health Department in charge of SWM is a pyramidal structure headed by the Chief Health Officer. For effective administration, the city has been divided into three zones namely east, west and south. A Zonal Health Officer administers each zone. There are two Deputy Health Officers to assist him. Each zone consists of ten ranges headed by a Medical Officer of Health. Each Medical Officer of Health is assisted by Senior, Junior Health Inspectors and Sanitary Daffedars. The field worker who is employed in the sanitation work is known as Pourakarmika.
• NGO. Swabhimana, Waste wise, Swachha Bangalore, Shuchi Mitras, etc., are some Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) that support the MSWM. Their functions are stated below:
  • they carry out public grievance meetings to identify the problem spots and convey these complaints to the authorities
  • they collaborate with authorities to carry out door-to-door collection of segregated waste
  • they identify public volunteers to monitor the SWM in their respective areas
  • few NGOs have also set up decentralised composting plants in residential areas and for this they also carry out door-to-door collection and educate the public to segregate the waste prior to disposal
  • they carry out public meetings in schools, colleges, public places etc., to educate the public about segregation of waste, non-littering, etc.
• Private formal sector. Currently, out of the 294 health wards in Bangalore city, 182 wards have been given out on a private contract. This includes the functions of collection of waste, transfer of waste to trucks, transport of waste to the specified dump yard. The dump yards that are currently being used are all owned by private entities. They have the responsibility of disposing of the waste by alternative layering of waste and soil, spraying it with EM solution and water. Processing of wastes is done by:
  • Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC), which is a government-aided organisation. This carries out the function of composting (windrow and vermicomposting)
  • Terra Firma Biotechnologies, which is a private organisation that carries out vermicomposting
  • Ramky Consultants, which is a private consultancy proposing to set up a sanitary landfill site in Bangalore
  • Srinivas Gayathri Resource Recovery, which is a private consultancy proposing to set up a waste to energy plant and a sanitary landfill site in Bangalore. Environmental audit of Municipal Solid Waste Management 379
• Private informal sector. The informal sector in the city is very large and plays a very vital role in the MSWM. It comprises the rag pickers who retrieve recyclable waste from the community bins and landfills, the people who buy recyclable waste from households usually called as ‘batli wallas’, the middlemen who buy waste from the rag pickers and ‘batli wallas’ and sell it to either bigger dealers or to recycling factories. Municipal workers like the pourakarmika collect waste from the households and retrieve the recyclable waste; even the lorry workers retrieve the recyclable waste before transferring the waste into the lorry. The waste retrieved by them is sold to the informal sector.
• Donor agencies. Development corporation of Norway (DCN), Deutsch Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) and World Health Organization (WHO) are a few of the international organisations that have sponsored projects in Bangalore. WHO has sponsored large scale composting plants all over India and DCN has sponsored decentralised plants all over Bangalore.
• Service users comprise the entire public in the city, including the tourists visiting the city.

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