‘Dumping yards can solve water-logging’

‘Dumping yards can solve water-logging’
Deccan Herald

Waste dumping yards catering exclusively to the dumping needs specific to the wet season could be the answer to problems like water-logging in dumping yards as was seen in Bangalore during the last monsoon.....

Waste dumping yards catering exclusively to the dumping needs specific to the wet season could be the answer to problems like water-logging in dumping yards as was seen in Bangalore during the last monsoon, expert in Solid Waste Management and President of the International Solid Waste Association N S Vasuki said.

The fact that waste-carrying trucks of the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) were stranded at the dumping yards for days on end due to slush and water-logging during the last rains means that the water draining systems in the landfill or dumping sites are very poor, he said.

Mr Vasuki, who is also the CEO of the Delaware Solid Waste Authority, Delaware City, US, noted that prominent cities in the developing world have waste dumping sites catering exclusively to the needs of the wet season. The adoption of engineering aspects that can counteract the natural forces - be it snowfall or rain is the answer to such issues, he said.

More landfills needed

Having checked up on the upcoming solid waste management sites of the BMP at Mandur and Maavallipura, Mr Vasuki said they are far short of the needs of a growing city. These projects in a 100 to 150 acre space can only be short-term measures; Bangalore needs some landfills in the size of 500 to 600 acres each, he said. Speaking to Deccan Herald on Wednesday, Mr Vasuki noted that improving the design parameters of a landfill would go a long way in addressing the people’s resistance the BMP faces while making land acquisitions for landfills.

A landfill site could be designed to be a park; its buffer zone could be developed into a thriving wildlife habitat, he pointed out.

Way back in the 1970s, the Delaware city government in the US, too was faced with people’s resistance to landfills.

Today Delaware has as many as 46 landfills and is one of the cities renowned for best practices in solid waste management, he said.