South Corporation’s ‘zero garbage’ plan starts rolling

A plan to minimise garbage being sent to the city’s landfill sites has been set in motion by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), which is inviting expressions of interest for its ‘zero garbage’ model this week.

SDMC Commissioner Manish Gupta said on Tuesday that the civic body would be inviting partners to help reduce the amount of waste being added to sanitary landfill sites and maximise the reuse of garbage.

“We are looking for two kinds of partners, one to organise rag-pickers and train them in waste segregation and the other to set up a facility centre for processing,” said Mr. Gupta.

The ‘zero garbage’ model aims to process all waste at the local level, i.e. municipal wards. This will reduce transportation costs and lessen the pressure on the three landfills in Delhi. The plan is to involve households to segregate waste at the source into organic and inorganic.

Dry waste, including paper and plastic, will be sent to a centralised recycling plant. Wet waste, including peels of fruits and vegetables, will be used in compost pits at the local level, while other organic material will be sent to biogas plants. The remaining waste will then be sent to the landfill.

The SDMC’s plan is to preserve the value of waste, as the rag-pickers employed by the NGO will sell the recyclable materials and keep the proceeds. Currently, waste-pickers are forced to climb into garbage dumps or landfills to find valuable metals and plastic. Under the new model, they will get segregated garbage right at the source.

Mr. Gupta said the SDMC will start the project with Dwarka. “We have got 5 acres of land in Dwarka for a facility centre to process the garbage. It will cater to about five wards in the area. We are hoping to have it functional by April 1, 2015,” said the Commissioner.

All generators of waste, households or commercial establishments, will store waste in two separate bins for wet and dry waste. Hazardous waste shall be stored in another container. Households will give a minimum of Rs. 30 a month to the NGO for door-step collection, while residents of slums will pay Rs.10.

Construction and demolition waste, or malba , will not be collected by the NGO. The SDMC will directly collect malba on one day in a week or month.

The Dwarka sub-city currently produces 200-250 metric tonnes of waste everyday that ends up at the Okhla or Bhalswa landfill sites. With the pilot zero garbage project, the SDMC is hoping the waste management system can be replicated across South Delhi.