1/18/2015

FieldTriptoHandinHandIndiasSolidWasteManagementFacility|UrbanDesignCollective

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Field Trip to Hand in Hand Indias Solid Waste Management Facility

POSTEDBYANINSIGHTFULNUTAPRIL1,20132COMMENTS
FILEDUNDER MAMALLAPURAM,WASTEMANAGEMENT
On23rdMarch(Saturday),abunchofusaspartofaUDCfieldtrip,visitedtheHandinHandIndiaSolidWasteManagementfacilityin
Mammallapuram,60kmawayfromChennai(orasitispopularlycalledMahabalipuram).Blessedwithalargeamountofpatienceand
exceptionalorganisationalskills,VidhyaMohankumarmanagedtoarrangetransportationforeveryone,sothatwewereallcarpooling.
PeoplecaughtbusestostrategiclocationsandwerepickedupbyothersandwemadeittoMammallapuramjustbeforemidday.Sothe
contingentthatmadeitincludedZoyabKadi,TahaerZoyab,NikithAshok,HareeshHaridasan,AdvaitJani,RoshanToshniwal,Shruti
Shankar,MaheshRadhakrishnan,VidhyaMohankumarandyourstruly,NithyaRamesh.
HandinHandIndiaisanNGOthathasbeeninoperationunofficiallysince1988andofficiallysince2002andworksonawidevarietyof
issuesthatincludeeliminationofchildlabour,womenempowermentandwastemanagement.TheystartedworkintheKancheepuram
district,andcurrentlyworkinseveralplacesinTamilNaduandarethinkingofexpandingtootherpartsofIndia.
Theyfollowamodeloffacilitationwheretheyworkwiththelocalpanchayat/municipalityforaperiodoftime,andwhenthelocalbodyis
capableofrunningthesysteminasustainablemanner,theypulloutmovingontothenextproject.Eachward,eachdistricthasadifferent
approachandbudgetaryconstraints,andhencetheyhavecomeupwithinnovativewaysofworkingsuitabletocontext.Somelocalbodies
have sufficient funds to provide a free service to the residents and some even provide free bins, whilst others barely have land to
accommodatethefacility.
WeweregreetedbyayoungandenthusiasticMr.KeerthiandaverycomposedBlockCoordinator,Mr.Porpathambothhavebeenpartof
Handin Hand India for several years. They explained their working methodology, approach and their financial model and cheerfully
answeredallourquestions.
TheUDCContingentthatmadethevisit!
InMammalapuram,theyhandlethe35tonnesofwasteeverydayfrom5wards,consistingof3600households.Thefacilityisadjacentto
thelandfill,andisspreadoverafewacresofland.Onewouldbehardpressedtoguessthatthisisawastemanagementcampus,asthey
havepainstakinglylandscapedit,resultingincompostingshedsamidstagreengardenandariotofflowersthatalmostdrownoutthe
presenceoftheneighbouringlandfill.Thecampusisatestamenttothepridetheytakeintheirwork,andbreaksallsetnotionsofwhata
wastemanagementfacilityshouldlooklike.
Happycampersinthepleasinglylandscapedfacility.
The project was kicked off with an initial stakeholders meeting which brought together the local body, residents, womens groups and
other organizations in the a community, followed by an intense awareness and sensitising campaign, which involved volunteers going
doortodoor,distributionofpamphletsandautosthatdrovearoundtheneighbourhoodspreadingthemessage.Everyhouseholdinthe5
wardswereprovidedwithagreenbinfororganicwasteandagreybinforinorganicwaste.Theywerealsoprovidedwithasacktostore
recyclableitemssuchasmilkcoversandglassbottles.
Mr.KeerthifromHandinHandIndiaexplainingwhattheydo,whytheydoandhowtheydo
Thebagthatisdistributedtoallresidentstostoretheirrecyclablescompletewithinstructionsandhelplinenumber
Segregationatsourceisofutmostimportance,forthesystemtoworkefficiently,andisalsothebiggestchallenge.Manyhouseholdsfailto
segregateproperly,andthemixedwastecannotbecompostedandunfortunatelyjoinsthelandfill.
The waste is collected door to door by green friends who operate a tricycle. On an average each tricycle, with two green friends can
cover300housesperday,andalittlelessiftheterrainishilly.Thesegreenfriendsarethegovernmentwastecollectorswhoareprovided
withuniforms,masksandgloves.Astheyareoftenfromdisadvantagedbackgrounds,andtheirnewnameinitselflendsdignitytotheir
profession.Certainmunicipalitieshavethefundstopayfortheentireoperation,butinMammallapuramanominalmonthlyfeeof30Rsis
collectedfromtheeachhousehold.
AccordingtoMr.Keerthi,peopleoftenprefertothrowtheirwasteintoavacantplotratherthanpayRs.30/tohaveitcollectedfromtheir
door.Tothwartthis,HandinHandIndiaspendstheinitialweeksincleaninguptheneighbourhoodandremovingallmunicipalgarbage
binstobreakthehabitofpeopledumpingwasteonthestreet,withoutsegregation.Hestronglyfeelsthatawarenessandsensitizationof
theaveragecitizenisofcriticalimportance,tobeabletotacklewastemanagement.
Thecollectedwasteisthenbroughttothecampus,andtheorganicwasteiscomposted.Theyhavetwocompostingshedswithrowsof
concretetanks.Oneshedisdevotedtovermicompostandtheothertoorganicbiocompost,asystemwhichisaidedbytheuseofcow
dung.Whenbothshedsarefull,theexcesswasteisarrangedinneatrows(windrows)toturnintocompostnaturally,whichistheslowest
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FieldTriptoHandinHandIndiasSolidWasteManagementFacility|UrbanDesignCollective

processofthethree.
Biocompostshed
Avermicompostpitshhhhthewormsaresleepinginside.
Asfarascompostgoesvermicompostisthemostnutritiousasthewastepassesthroughthebodyofaworm,andthesoilgetsturned
naturally.Thetemperatureneedstobecontrolledforoptimumcomfortofthewormsandtheyneedtobeprotectedfromantsandrats
whichsometimeschoosetoattackthem.HandinHandIndiaisalsodevelopingaprototypewherethroughdripirrigationtheygetvermi
waterfromapotfullofvermicompostwhichcanbedilutedandusedtowaterplants.
KeerthitellingusabouttheVermiwaterdrippingfromthesuspendedpot
Cowdungissourcedfromneighbouringfarmsandvillagesfortheorganiccompostwhichisfasterandinvolveslessmaintenance,butis
alsolessnutritious.Someofthecompostissold,andtheratesreduceasthequantityincreasesandtheremainingisusedforthefillingand
landscapingofthecampusitself.
Theinorganicwasteissegregatedfurther,therecyclablesaresoldandtheremainingiseitherstoredorsenttothelandfill.Theyhavea
machine,thatcompressesplasticbagsandintopelletsandwerekindenoughtogiveusademonstration.Thesepelletsarethemainraw
materialforthemanufactureofplasticandhaveahigherresalevaluethanthebags.
Trashtrasheverywhere..somanykindsoftrash!
Themagicmachinethatconvertsplasticbagsintoplasticpelletsforrecycling
As Mammallapuram is a popular tourist destination for both international and domestic travellers it has a large number of hotels and
restaurants.500kgofFoodwasteiscollectedfromtheseestablishmentseveryday,ground,andfedintoabiogasplant.Thehospitality
establishmentsarechargedbasedontheweightofthefoodwastethatiscollected,RadissonTempleBayaloneproduces11.5tonnesof
foodwasteeveryday.
Theplantisalargetankthatfloatsinwater.Excessgasescapesviathewater,andtheconstantgurglingletsyouknowthattheplantis
functioningnormally.Thegasthusproducedisusedtopower25streetlightsontheECR(EastCoastRoad)
Thebiogasplant
Afteratouroftheplant,wewatchedavideotheyhadsubmittedtotheBBCworldChallenge,awellmadeoverviewoftheirwork,with
thepeople,workersandvolunteersairingtheirviews.Unfortunatelytheycamesecondanddidntreceivethefundingwhichtheywere
goingtousetosetupabottlingplantforthebiogas.
Thisinitiativehasprevented60%ofthetotalwastegeneratedfromthe5wardsfromendingupinalandfill,providedempowermentand
employmenttothecommunity,andresultedinacleanerMammallapuram.
The whole visit was very heartening and has shed a lot of light on community participation and the extent of progress small acts can
achieve.Idohopethatvisitslikethisstaywithus,helpuschooseoureverydayconsumerproductswisely,sensitizeustosegregate,sell
ourrecyclablesandstartsmallcompostunitsatourhome/street/neighbourhood.
Ifanyoneisinterestedinknowingmorepleasewritetoushere,wecanhelpyoufindatailormadewastemanagementsolutionforyour
house,ordiscussotherwastemanagementtechniques/ideas.
PhotographsCourtesyMaheshRadhakrishnan,ShrutiShankarandPorpatham
NithyaRameshisanArchitectUrbanDesigner,passionateaboutexperiencingandchangingcities.ShecurrentlyworksinJanaUrban
SpaceFoundation,Bangalorecreatingbetterstreetsandpublicspaces.
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Discussion

2 thoughts on Field Trip to Hand in Hand Indias Solid Waste Management Facility
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FieldTriptoHandinHandIndiasSolidWasteManagementFacility|UrbanDesignCollective

1. Rebloggedthisonaninsightfulnut.
POSTEDBYANINSIGHTFULNUT|APRIL1,2013,11:38PM
REPLYTOTHISCOMMENT
2. Wow.Weallknowthatwastemanagement,whendoneproperly(esp.wastesegregation)givesusalotofadvantages.Butthisisthe
firstinstancewhereIseeitinaction!IfallthebiodegradablewasteinChennaicanbecollectedcentrallyandconvertedintoelectricity,
I am sure we wouldnt have any powercuts in the city. Good to know that some people in our locality are involved in this novel
project.
DestinationInfinity
POSTEDBYDESTINATIONINFINITY|APRIL10,2013,12:17AM
REPLYTOTHISCOMMENT

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