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Composters back at work
These gated communities had a great system of in-situ composting, but lost the momentum along the way only to regain it now
Representational picture only
Deccan Enclave, a 50-unit apartment complex at T.M. Maistry Street in Thiruvanmiyur not only makes compost with the kitchen waste collected from every household but also sells the excess “harvest” to communities in the locality.
“We would have sold at least 300 kilos of the black compost in the last six months, charging ₹15 a kilo,” says Purushothaman Sriraman, secretary of the residents association.
This is commendable as the community faced many challenges in its composting journey, even hitting a massive roadblock that had its two composters staying idle for a few years.
In 2018, the resident association spent a few lakhs of rupees to invest in two composters but in less than two years maggot infestation forced the residents to stop this activity. “The maggots spread into our water tank, making it difficult for us to continue with the work,” says Sriraman. Maggots help break down waste, but weather conditions can interfere with the process. It takes considerable determination for a community to continue despite such setbacks and opposition from residents.
The composters at Ragamalika Apartments in Mandaveli
“In 2022, we resumed the work after overcoming the initial hiccups,” says Sriraman, adding that another community near them has also resumed composting.
SWM (Solid Waste Management) rules of 2016 wants communities to implement waste segregation. They do not mandate in-situ composting for large communities. If communities do not compost their waste then it becomes the Corporation’s responsibility to manage the organic waste that is generated.
“We expect responsible communities to handle organic waste within their own compound,” says D. Sukumar, superintending engineer, solid waste management, Greater Chennai Corporation.
The pandemic gave another reason for gated communities to take a break from in-situ composting.
Ragamalika Apartments in Mandaveli had invested in two composters before the pandemic but manpower issues and change in rules when a new waste management company took over brought the process to a grinding halt.
Since early this year, the apartment association has been forced to put the two composters to good use thanks to persistent requests, teetering on a demand, by a small army of environment-conscious residents.
“A group of resident headed by one Hetal has been nudging the association to enforce compulsory waste segregation and composting. Today, we are happy they acted as a pressure group,” says Sriram M.V. secretary, Ragamalika Apartment Owners Association.
The community has not achieved 100 percent segregation yet, and residents from a few blocks are trying to set an example for other residents to follow.
“Our two composters cannot handle the organic waste from all the 200 plus flats but we are ready to invest in more bins depending on the committent from residents,” says Sriram. He says Greater Chennai Corporation must also be aggressive in pushing in-situ composting and apartments such as theirs are ready to work with them closely.
Similarly, Isha Signature Villas in Jalladianpet stopped composing during the pandemic due to lack of supply of microorganisms. Later, they resumed and now use the compost for the green spaces in the compound. A ready-made facility and a few people systems have made this possible.
The green advantage
In Chennai, since door-to-door collection of waste began there has been some interest in in-situ composting. The communities that have invested in the composters are self-driven and take time and effort to see the desired results.
These communities have also benefited from the green advantage. Residents associations must make sure the vendor or agency collecting their waste has a processing facility where organic waste is converted and not dumped elsewhere.
Manoj Nair, director, Greenrich Grow India
‘We soldiered on, even during the pandemic’
Although we had challenges in getting micro organisms during the pandemic, we did not discontinue the process. Dry grass from our lawns mixed with compost was added to the composters. In fact, we added new bins and made the exercise more intensive as we had more time at our disposal.
Among factors that worked in our favour were investing in five 450-litre composters, rather than going for giant-sized composters. If something goes wrong, only a part of the effort would be wasted. Each bin takes in specific items such as kitchen waste and leaf litter, so we are able to manage better.
Another key to keeping this initiative going is to empower first level staff and multiple layers of residents in the community who can make it a success.
Housekeeping staff were given ownership of one or two bins and a healthy competition was set in motion. They are incentivised for every good work they do.
We have been extremely strict with residents of the community on how they hand over their waste to housekeeping staff. You need to enforce it with an iron hand.
Y. Sujatha, secretary, The Central Park – East, Sholinganallur
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environmental pollution
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waste management
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Chennai Corporation