Community initiative to tackle domestic waste

Vishal Joshi

About 30 households at Sector 7 in Kurukshetra have found a workable solution to the safe disposal of domestic waste. For the last three months, they are not disposing of their kitchen waste in mobile garbage collection vans of the Municipal Corporation. Instead, they are voluntarily dumping organic matter in a corner of a well-maintained park in the neighbourhood.

Led by Vinod Singla, these residents have made a tiny composting unit that has been divided into three compartments for garbage collection. Local residents put waste generated from vegetables, fruits and other leftover food items there.

Mamta Rani, a resident of Sector 7, has a good experience of the initiative. She has started segregating kitchen leftovers from bio non-degradable waste at her house. “Whenever sanitation workers skip garbage collection or when they go on a strike, waste disposal is never an issue for us. The entire bio-degradable household waste is collected and thrown into the pit. We can walk around the park, as the place does not stink,” she says.

Singla, a district informatics officer in Kurukshetra, says he has spent Rs 4,000 from his own pocket on the improvised compost producing unit and he motivates his friends for the project.

“Segregated waste is a great idea but it needs to be first put into effect at our homes. As Kurukshetra does not have a solid waste management plant, we collectively tried to find a solution to the disposal of domestic waste,” he adds.

Singla admits initially residents were reluctant but now everyone is responding well to the initiative. They have engaged a worker who segregates the waste on alternative days for making manure.

Organic manure produced at the unit has already been used for plants and saplings growing in the community park. “Whenever more manure is produced, we will ask residents to use compost in their kitchen gardens and lawns. Community participation in a well-organised manner can help in tackling the challenge of safe disposal of waste,” he adds.

Singla, who has the responsibility of installing communication infrastructure in various state government establishments in the district, wants to work with committed teachers of government-run rural schools for converting waste into manure.