Did you know that you can actually make those mountains of garbage that dot our city landscape disappear? Beginning with a change in the mindset of every individual we can actually curtail and drastically reduce the amount of garbage that needlessly makes its way into landfills. And, hard to believe but true - it is possible to eventually become a zero waste household.

Whatever the scale of your waste management requirements, it all begins with segregation. Segregating waste at source is the simplest thing to do to help start to Clean Bangalore! And by adopting the 3 R's - reduce, reuse, recycle - you can help make the city cleaner and greener.

For apartments and complexes, it's important that everyone at the household level begins to adopt better waste management practices. The easiest way to do this is to enrol the help of your residents' association, building management, and housekeeping staff so that you get the maximum benefits from collective storage and composting. Awareness materials including posters and stickers are available for download  or by contacting the SWMRT offices. Before embarking on your solid waste management program, you will need to assess whether you want to manage the process yourselves, or enlist the help of an outside service provider.

Wet and Dry Waste

Simply sorting the garbage into wet and dry waste instead of throwing it into common trash is the first step. Almost 80% of household waste is vegetable and fruit peel which can be turned into rich, organic compost that will enrich the quality of our soil.

- Get a bin for the kitchen which collects only wet kitchen waste.

- Even in the smallest of apartments, you can set up a compost unit. Or better still, work with your fellow residents and building management to find space and funds for a larger scale composting facility suitable for the size of your complex. To learn more, see the different kind of composting contact us.

- For more info on how you can begin individual composting visit www.dailydump.org

The 3 R's

Dry waste, in turn, can be recycled. If sorted and disposed of separately dry waste comprising old newspapers, glass and plastic bottles, milk packets etc can also be effectively recycled to form other products. And better still, with the scale of waste being produced by apartments and complexes, you will be able to sell this for funds that can be ploughed back into your recycling efforts, or used as incentives for housekeeping.

- Keep large bags in your recycling area in which you can place different types of dry waste, such as newspapers, plastic bottles and containers, metal and other waste.

- Remember to clean any dirty containers before putting them out for recycling.

- Work with your residents' association/building management to allocate a recycling area in the complex where dry waste can be stored in its segregated state.

- Or better still, enlist the help of the experts ( see Corporates ) who will visit your apartment complex to assess your needs and recommend the best way system for your size and scale of waste management project.

- ITC, the paper and packaging company, also runs a scheme called WOW - Wealth out of Waste - and work with apartments and institutions to implement dry waste collection schemes.

- Find out more at http://www.itcgreenpapers.com/Wealth_Out_of_Waste.aspx.

Certain items that cannot be recycled or reused, such as medical waste, will need to be handled by a specialist. Contact one of the service providers from this list of recyclers in your area. (ses Directory of Recyclers in Infomation Centre)

Ban Plastic!
Plastic bags pose one of the biggest threats to wildlife. In our cities as well, hundreds of stray dogs and cows die each year because of ingesting plastic along with the garbage they feed on. So the next time think before you carelessly toss a plastic bag filled with leftovers on to the street corner. We could all make the wise and eminently practical decision of refusing the plastic bag that is offered free with every purchase we make. As they are non-biodegradable, plastic bags remain in our environment for years and years. Simply get into the habit of carrying your own cloth bag when you set out to buy something. This simple gesture will display your genuine concern for the environment.