A Garbage Chute is a long vertical pipe that aids in transporting waste at the floor level to a collection point at the bottom, using gravity. In this article, we are referring to a garbage chute system that is fit into residential apartments.This technology positions itself as a solution to save labour from housekeeping staff’s collection time – and make it convenient to throw your waste whenever possible through the day for residents. This technology also finds some glamour as it brings aspirations to lifestyle of the west.

Timely collection and timely management of the collected waste is extremely important – that is the bottom line in waste management. Both these facets work well with a third critical wheel – that is of source segregation. The foundational pillar – source segregation, brings to forefront a key element : accountability of segregated waste at the door level – at the household. This is an imperative step, which is iterated at various rules and regulation by both Central and Local Authorities in respective Waste Management Rules. \

A garbage chute fundamentally disrupts this pillar of source segregation. It implies, that anyone in the building can throw whatever they want, whenever they want to. The first level service provider – i.e., the housekeeping staff will have no clue to identify the culprit who has thrown in mixed waste. With no accountability, the non-threatening municipal waste becomes a hazard – as multiple materials like broken glass and sharps can hurt the human being who is sorting through this waste. Waste at this level, becomes a disgusting affair. Imagine a tender coconut shell thrown from the 22nd floor crash landing on a bag of food waste which is liquid-y in nature – and splatters on a neighboring soiled diaper.

The end result of this continues to be mixed waste – with limited viability for both composting and actual material recovery. Neither will happen since contamination is all over the place. While one may argue that garbage chutes can be labelled to prevent people from sending different types of materials in different chute tubes. But labels can be torn off, and people can forget – and neither of these problems can be solved. This is the harsh reality of how a garbage chute functions. No source accountability, no segregated – aligned waste and zero dignity to the person who is managing the waste.

What is mixed, cannot be fixed. Unfortunately, this kind of mixed waste also leads to infrastructure being spoilt, broken. We’ve encountered many bins that break increasing costs of investing in such dustbins.

From experience of 8 years, where we have enabled discipline of segregation at the door step. People change their behavior when they know that their act of segregation is actually being managed within their own backyard. Simple systems of door step collection – and segregation are undermined with the broader thought – who will segregate. In our experience of working with 15000+ homes, we can tell you – if we consistently supplement action of composting/material recovery – 100% people segregate, and even sustain it for the long haul. That’s the kind of behaviour that we need to pass on to the next generation.

Municipalities are making it mandatory for Societies to manage waste on their own! Deadlines are being set. The prospect of paying fines or having garbage not picked up is real! At this point of time, societies It’s time to do something about it. Here are 7 steps to transform your community to waste consciousness!

1. Communicate deadlines with residents to segregate their waste. Share segregation guides. Suggest residents to use multiple bins for different waste. Suggest what painful measures may have to be taken if compliance is low. Hold awareness programs.
2. Do door to door collection to fix accountability at each doorstep. This means shutting down common bins and garbage chutes. Consider fixing a collection team which goes door to door everyday. Set a monitoring system for compliance.
3. Train collection staff not to mix waste which is segregated. This is a motivation killer. Provide collection staff right equipment, bins and personal protection. Hire an expert agency to do this for you if necessary.

   

4. Identify a space in the community where dry waste can be stored in a secure way. Build up some fabricated rooms, if necessary. Ensure collection staff store materials neatly and clean all bins daily.

5. 

   Wet waste can be composted inside your compound very clean and odour free and at affordable levels. Visit successful project and interact with others who have successfully run projects for many years. Understand budgets and technologies and build up a plan to fund this. If you are convinced, you can convince others to do the right thing.
6. Keep brown leaves, branches and other garden waste neatly packed in boris and designate a space for it. Keeping untidy and unmanaged heaps attracts more waste and creates a litter spots. Contact an agency that will take away garden waste and use it as a resource and not burn it or dump it.
7. The municipality will continue to collect dry waste, reject and household hazardous wastes. When you have kept it segregated.

It’s not that overwhelming, when you have expert support. Call us! We can setup the entire program for you to go zero waste and become a proud community which complies with good laws.

The law mandates segregation at source. But how can we effectively implement this? For 2 decades, we have been seeing news about different villages shutting down and protesting landfills that are in THEIR backyard. As city residents, the onus on segregation and ensuring recycling now lies on our shoulders. Not only does this stop villages turning into dumping grounds of all kinds of waste, it also aids in creating a circular loop of resources.

As waste management providers, we lead by example and dedicatedly show how segregation can lead to material and resource circularity. We ensure that 5 Key things happen in all our projects.

1. Awareness and conversations with people.

Every project of ours, starts here. Conversations. With Managing Committees, with residents, household help, housekeeping staff. When we emphasise on segregation, we handhold through the entire process through consistent awareness sessions. Without these sessions, it is impossible to ensure 100% segregation at source. Simple posters accompanied with conversations make the perfect recipe for 100% segregation. We’ve witnessed children as young as 6 or even younger knowing how to segregate. We keep it that simple. That’s our secret to enabling green communities. 

• Composting on site without odour, using minimal energy.
  Our senior management composts at home, every day. This means, we know first hand that compost does not smell and that as an organisation we walk the talk. Composting is done with naturally available materials, so no promises on 24-hour composting. This is because we know that this means we are aligned on working with nature. Composting is our core, and 100+ societies in Pune know and benefit from our seamless service.

In some of our rural sites, we are closing the loop much faster – since compost goes back to agricultural land, and nourishes customers with food. A simple formula, that we partake with pride:

Good soil = good, safe produce = healthy people = healthy planet.

• Training, not just our own – but also the ecosystem.

Our staff is trained on the job, and we teach them not just how to load the pits with effective cultures – but also leave the place clean after the job is done. In the process, we also teach housekeeping on how to handle wet waste that comes in without any plastic lining. We train and make them aware on why cleaning the dustbins should be part of a routine affair. In the process, we make the entire wet waste management odour free. Due to the nature of our work, we streamline dry waste and wet waste – we also ensure that garden waste is not mixed with any other waste. So this entire stream can also meet it’s ‘sangam’ i.e. return back to soil.

When we do all of this, there is immense faith on our field staff – for being punctual and for dedication to the job.

• Monitoring

Any project works well, when there are checks and balances. As a practice, we have in-house stringent monitoring to ensure that we don’t default anywhere. We have benchmarks for how wet waste is loaded in pits to how it is managed to how it is harvested. Our systems work like clockwork to ensure no one feels like their time is wasted. Our service is seamless and we aspire to be the best.

• Closing the loop on materials.

Be it organic waste or plastic or e-waste – every resource must be managed so that it doesn’t lead to a dumping ground. So, we have strategic partnerships with Government authorized recyclers and dismantlers. Closing the loop, creating circular loops align with the vision and mission of our organisation.

Our work is symbiotic with many other companies and groups of people. These relationships we treasure. We work in sync with this ecosystem, and jointly, uphold the values of ‘waste management’ together.