Karnataka HC orders two bins, one bag for waste segregation

Bengaluru, Dec 18: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday passed an interim order directing “waste generators” (citizens) in Bengaluru to adopt “two bins and one bag” system to segregate waste at source.

The court ordered segregation of biodegradable or wet waste, non-biodegradable or dry waste, and domestic hazards, including sanitary waste, in suitable bins.

A division bench of Justices N Kumar and B V Nagarathna passed the order on a batch of petitions filed by civil society groups, NGOs and others seeking directions for scientific disposal of garbage in the City.

The bench directed that every day, at a particular time, the segregated waste will be collected by persons engaged by the BBMP. The waste collected from door-to-door should be transported directly to the respective waste processing units having the facility for sorting and recovery of recyclable waste.

The bench ordered that the authority should ensure that after segregation of solid waste collected from the doorstep, under no circumstances should they be mixed and transported and that the segregated waste shall be transported only in the segregated form to the processing facility. Only in the absence of such arrangement, secondary storage can be used and it is only an exception.

The bench stated that bulk generators should store solid waste in two bins and will be handled by an individual without any assistance from any contractor.

Establishments, including semi-government, Central government, State government, private companies, apartment dwellers, gated communities, hotels, restaurants, marriage halls, education institutions, malls, shops, clubs and places of religious worship have to adopt “two bins and one bag” system.

The bench said that bio-degradable waste from fruits and vegetable markets, meat and fish markets and horticultural waste from parks and gardens should be sent to decomposing facility within the premises to make optimum use and minimise the cost of collection and transportation.

The court said vehicles used for transportation should be covered and should have the facility to prevent from spilling waste and leachate dropping from the vehicle to the ground. The vehicle carrying waste should not be exposed and visible to the public.

At the secondary storage depots, bins or containers should be collected on a daily basis and should be picked before the container starts overflowing. Street sweeping and the waste collected should not be left uncleared, but must be kept in covered bins.

The order stated that BBMP will be creating public awareness about segregation of waste into the three categories.

The bench said that not following the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2015, is punishable under section 431 A of the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, which talks about penalties for failure to comply with the Solid Waste Management Scheme. The bench will further hear the matter after the winter vacation.