Bengaluru waste managementThe closure of the Mavallipura landfll by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board in 2012, the protest by the villagers of Mandur, the directives by the Hon’ble High Court of Karnataka and the growing unrest in the City about the need to have a sustainable system to handle solid waste has led to much introspection by the system, and diverse engagement by varied groups to look at the garbage issue through a fresh lens.
The MOU signed between BBMP, Social Venture Partners (SVP) and Wake Up Clean Up (WUCU) in 2013 (Annexure I) sets out a focus on understanding the dry waste chain in Bengaluru and the ways to extract value from it. SVP came forward to conduct a study to fll gaps about the dry waste value flow and information about existing infrastructure for processing / recycling dry waste streams by category. The study consisted of extensive feld research, interviews and interaction with over 200 stakeholders. The exercise involved tracking the dry waste cycle from generation to disposal. The focus was on extracting maximum value through an inclusive strategy starting with segregation at source, understanding market forces, expanding investments in processing resulting in maximum resource recovery and hence minimizing waste to the landfll.