Suryapet Municipality in Andhra Pradesh has implemented a dustbin free and zero garbage policy under its Solid Waste Management Project. This town in the Nalgonda district with a population of 1.04 lakh as per the 2001 census is the first municipality in the country to implement an integrated solid waste management programme.
From dumping garbage on the roads once, its citizens have now made it possible for garbage to be collected from their homes itself. The result is a cleaner, hygienic environment in the town.
The town municipality undertook certain measures to ensure a garbage-free zone: Removal of public/community dustbins: The Suryapet Municipal Authorities removed the public/community dustbins in the town and introduced door-to-door collection of garbage from all households and commercial establishments from February 2003 by sending municipal vehicles along with public health workers. For easy implementation of this measure, the entire municipal area was divided into seven territorial zones.
Introduction of single bin system: Initially for about six months from February 2003, garbage was collected without segregation in a single bin. At this stage of intervention, all residents used to store the garbage in a single bin/plastic bags/cartons, etc., and hand it over to the municipal tractor as and when it visited their houses.
Introduction of plastic bin system: In August, 2003, all residents were supplied with two plastic bins to deposit wet garbage in green colour bins and dry garbage in red colour bins, duly segregating the garbage at source. The municipality raised funds for the purchase and distribution of bins from various sources for the purpose.
Demo Classes: Demo classes were conducted in street corner meetings to foster community participation in the programme by segregating garbage at source (i.e., wet and dry garbage separately). For easy segregation of garbage, a calendar in local language indicating the materials to be put in the green and red bins was distributed.
At the same time, all the roads and drains were cleaned daily and the garbage generated (including silt) thereon loaded into the municipal vehicle when it visited the treets for collection of garbage from households. The garbage generated after sweeping the streets was also deposited in the vehicle. Arrangements were made for periodic collection and safe disposal of drainage silt.
Dustbins were attached to telephones/electrical poles on the roads in crowded areas, commercial areas and important locations in the town for depositing garbage like match boxes, cigarette boxes, waste paper, polythene covers, etc., dropped by footpath dwellers. Commercial establishments, shop owners and members of the public were asked to drop all waste material in the dustbins hanging on the nearest telephone/electrical poles. The municipal PH workers cleaned these bins periodically in the day.
Separate vehicles collected bulk garbage from shops situated on the main roads, hospitals, hotels, restaurants, kalyana mandapams, mutton and chicken stalls at different times in the day. Vehicles were deployed once a week to lift debris from all parts of the town. Owners of commercial establishments who threw garbage in the streets and drains were levied a penalty of Rs.100/- per offence. As a result the number of people throwing garbage in the roads and drains fell. In commercial centres, the garbage was collected three times a day. In areas where the tractor could not reach, garbage was collected using tricycles and dumped on the roadsides from where the tractors collected it.
The segregated wet garbage was transported to the compost yard for producing vermin-compost and the dry garbage was further segregated into paper, plastic, glass and metal and sold out to scrap dealers. The silt and debris was dumped in
low-lying areas.
To implement this programme, the commissioner and sanitary inspector worked day and night for about three months. They supervised the municipal tractor at 5.00 in the morning while it collected garbage from each household, cleaned the roads and filled the pits on the roads. From the fourth month onwards, citizens including members of commercial establishments and shopkeepers began to dispose the garbage in the municipal tractors only. Public health workers were made to compulsorily work at least seven out of eight hours in day. Some of them were engaged in the night for sweeping and lifting garbage.
The intervention improved the hygiene situation in the town. The rate of communicable diseases has been reduced substantially. There is a visible change in the appearance of the town. There is perceptible improvement in the quality of life of citizens. Public health workers are satisfied with this initiative as there is no physical handling of garbage. Further the strenuous task of lifting garbage from the dustbins is completely eliminated as the garbage is collected from households directly. Vehicles instead of the traditional wheel barrow are used to lift the garbage collected from sweeping roads.
On the anvil is a plan of the municipality to set up a wastewater-recycling unit. Planting of plants to make the city green is already underway. Another plan is to organise camps to check vehicle pollution periodically in the town. In recognition of their efforts, the State Government of Andhra Pradesh awarded a Rs.25 lakh grant on January 6, 2006 to the Suryapet municipal authorities. The model's success has inspired replication plans across small towns of one lakh people.
