In July 2024, the Residents Association of Shanti Niketan very ceremoniously began to use its newest acquisition, a 520 Falcon bio-shredder. Many years ago, the MCD had made SNRA its partner for managing the 11 small and large parks in the colony with the promise of a regular pick up of the massive quantities of bulky horticulture waste. The erratic, whimsical manner in which this commitment was discharged was a source of much heartburn and stress.
Finally, the RWA decided to opt for a machine to sharply reduce this waste to have a better grasp of the condition in the parks. However, what became increasingly clear was that inadequate vehicles were only part of the problem of proper horticulture waste management for which the municipality was legally responsible. It had no idea about the safe disposal of this distinct category of biodegradable waste, which it was so often unwilling to pick up. Many had observed that surreptitiously placed piles of garden waste in the colony’s two dhalaos were quietly and routinely mixed with other assorted waste, by the employees of the transport company hired by the MCD, uploaded into trucks, and whisked away. The final destination was easy to predict. Depositions of unsegregated waste get generously paid for at designated landfills. Due to the huge hazard such sites pose to human and non-human beings and the environment, are called ‘mountains of shame.’
Against this background, SNRA has decided to start an on-site final disposal scheme for the colony’s horticulture waste by creating a system for composting it. Residents have been asked to instruct their malis to drop off garden waste. They have been told this could include grass trimmings, branches with stems up to one inch in thickness, dried plants with roots, and wilted flowers. The popular cut flower vendor based near Gate Number 1 has been advised to bring over the flower-related residues to the waste collection point near the enclosure in the park where the shredder is housed. Specially designed wire bins have been procured from an NGO in Gurgaon in which shredded green and brown waste can be mixed with microorganism-laden soil or some urea to hasten degradation and periodically stirred and allowed to mature into a powdery mass which will supposedly have the fragrance of wet earth.
The process is expected to take 45 days. An update on SNRA’s ambitious venture should appear in the December issue of Samvada.
