The most generated ‘other wastes’ in the city
Wet waste and dry waste are, as far as one can tell, the only two categories of waste that most of the general public are aware of, but garbage being a huge concept has several subdivisions which come under one main topic. Some of the most generated types of waste are consumable waste, e-waste, biomedical waste, industrial waste; there are many more which are facing similar problems to wet and dry waste in terms of segregation and management. Bengaluru, a city which generates a variety of waste is unaware to a certain degree of it's segregation and disposal. Below are 3 of the most generated 'other' wastes in the city.
Electronic waste/E-waste
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E-waste are the items/ gadgets that use some form of electronic energy to work, phones laptops, televisions and even cables are categorized under e-waste. Bengaluru being the IT capital of India produces about 92,000 tonnes of e-waste annually, making it the 3rd largest producer of e-waste in India.
E-waste is hazardous to the environment due to the presence of toxic chemicals and other elements in electronic devices, hence it is essential to have a proper disposal and management process. The steps to manage e-waste are: collection, segregation and dismantling. After this process it is again segregated into what goes to the recycling centre and what goes to the landfills. A rule was enacted in India for the management of e-waste due to its unique nature, that is the producer of the equipment should be responsible for the entire life cycle, especially for the take back, recycling and final disposal of the product.
Food waste
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The waste which arises from any edible item such as leftovers is food waste. About 68% of waste in Bengaluru is food waste. A needless source of greenhouse gas emission that contributes to climate change and global warming. It is not only a loss for the economy but also a loss for the sources growing, packaging, transporting and marketing the food.
"We prepare food in bulk, at the end of the day if it doesn't sell we have no choice but to dump it, we cannot sell old food to our customers" says an anonymous restaurant manager. With a growing population and the scarcity of resources we cannot afford to lose consumable food. Better ways to manage food can be to invest in storage facilities, retailers can lower the price of goods whose shape, size and quality is not up to standards, the wasted food can be made as fertilizers or can be sent in as food for animals. All the consumable food can be eaten later on rather than to end up in waste bins.
Biomedical waste
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The wastes which are produced from medical sources and activities are biomedical waste. 50% of biomedical waste of the state is produced in Bengaluru. It is very harmful to the environment due to its infectious and toxic nature.
The management of biomedical waste is important, it is segregated in colour coded bags and bins for easy differentiation and identification of waste at the point of generation/collection. The time period of storage of medical waste should not go beyond 8-10 hours in hospitals which have more than 250 beds and 24 hours in nursing homes. The ways to treat and dispose of medical waste are incineration, autoclaving, shredding, microwaving and deep burial.
