It's time to WoW the dirty dozen - DNA
July 02, 2013
Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) major ITC limited and the BBMP joined hands to ensure total garbage segregation in 12 BBMP wards in the city with the concept of Wealth Out of Waste (WoW).
The pilot project is expected to be extended to 20 more wards if things go as per plans.
The programme aims to create a sustainable livelihood for rag-pickers and waste collectors by propagating source segregation at all level of society and facilitating effective collection mechanisms to maximise recycling of dry waste.
ITC will supply plastic bags to the residents to keep the dry waste that will be collected by pourakarmikas and will be deposited at dry-waste collection centres. The dry waste will then be purchased by ITC at Rs 5-6 per kg for recycling. The money generated through the sale of dry waste will be distributed among the pourakarmikas, and they are expected to get an additional Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 to their income per month through this initiative.
The programme will be implemented in the following wards: Chowdeswari Nagar, Thanisandra, Byatarayanapura, Jayamahal, Kottigepalya, Bharathinagar, Shivajinagar, Sampangirama Nagar, Sudhamanagar, Dharmaraya Swamy Temple, Kathriguppe, and Yadiyur.
"The pilot programme on 100% segregation of waste at source will be extended to other wards in the future... The need of the hour is to ensure segregation of garbage at source," said transport minister Ramalinga Reddy, who is also the incharge minister for Bangalore City.
The pilot programme will cover all segments like households, offices, shops, schools, educational institutions, malls, supermarkets, banks, hotels and hospitals. It also seeks to ensure collection of post-consumer FMCG waste, which has become a major source of litter in the city. It is also expected that increasing the quantum of dry recyclable waste will substantially improve the incomes of rag-pickers and pourakarmikas.
The BBMP will also support this initiative by providing dry waste collection centres in each ward and ensuring that waste segregation is strictly implemented by their staff in each ward.
The WOW scheme aims to create awareness among general public about the concept of reduce-reuse-recycle, to protect and restore the environment, and inculcate the habit of segregation at source among the general public, school children, corporates and people from all walks of life.
The ITC’s WOW programme is operational in Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore, Bangalore and Kochi. What started with just 10 MT collection of recyclables through the WOW initiative has now swelled to over 4,000 MT per month.
