In a move towards environmental sustainability, the newly constructed Solid Waste Management (SWM) plant lays the foundation for on-campus waste segregation and treatment initiatives. In a conversation with the English Press Club, Estate Manager Lt. Col. A.K. Bhataiya provided insight about the project.
Prior to the installation of the plant, BITS’s waste would be dumped in the municipality landfill, solid wastes being segregated manually and sold to local contractors (kabuliwallahs). Considering the increasingly limited space available and the fact that BITS generates over two metric tonnes of waste daily, this approach did not seem sustainable, prompting the switch to an on-campus waste management system.
The SWM facility requires waste be sorted into 2 categories – wet and dry. While dry waste is further sorted for later disposal, wet waste is anaerobically processed to generate biogas. The biogas produced is then supplied to a diesel-powered generator, which meets the plant’s power requirements and further generates a surplus to power other facilities. The plant however requires a month before it can be completely functional, to allow bacterial culture growth for its anaerobic processing stage.
Col. Bhataiya was appalled by the situation here at BITS, with garbage strewn despite the near ubiquitous presence of dustbins. He considered the individual to be less at fault here, claiming it reflected how society eschewed individual responsibility for public hygiene. Col. Bhataiya charges students with the responsibility to sort their waste. “Segregation is the responsibility solely of those generating the waste. This is how it’s done in countries around the globe, and how it should be done here.”
The Estate Manager explained that it is asked of the students to sort the waste into just two categories to make things simpler. He mentioned that the Student Union’s role in the entire project is limited to maintaining dustbins and spreading awareness of the need to separate waste, highlighting the importance of segregation at source.
As most college campuses in the country have archaic waste management facilities, Col. Bhataiya – as an alumnus – feels that BITS has set a standard by conceiving and constructing the SWM plant. He further mentioned that India had its first waste management facility built as late as in the ‘90s, following a Supreme Court petition, even though the technology had been available since the ‘70s. “This reflects the national attitude towards waste management, and cannot be allowed to continue”, he lamented.