Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh has shown the way for small cities to adopt sustainable decentralised waste management practices. The town is pushing its residents to segregate waste at source.
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Well done Balaghat! Segregation is the first and most important step towards waste management.
While on one side such efforts are being made towards segregation of waste, there are a few who are trying to take advantage of the situation. Citizens should be made aware of false marketing under the garb of "smart" gadgets. Recently came across one such product called Binit being promoted by GRSTA Innovations Bangalore. The idea is similar to a sink shredder common in countries like USA. The waste is shredded and drained into the sewer! This will not only increase pressure on STPs but will also result in higher energy costs. Not to mention increased pollution in water sources. Such technologies should be stopped before they become commercial.
Balaghat is presenting a live example for waste management in cities. Even other municipalities like the one in Bilaspur (C.G.) are taking initiatives.They have distributed 2 dustbins to its residents for segregation of waste along with door to door waste collection service. Source segregation is the most decentralized way of waste management and the process is self-sustainable for future. Next generation will inherit the practice from their parents. Segregation has multipronged benefit. On one hand it is providing monetary gains to the municipality by selling plastics while providing organic manure on the other. However small units for waste to energy generation can better be installed to provide electricity support to near-by villages or fulfilling the needs of the city during heavy load requirements in summers.