Managing solid waste by engaging the community.

When I Joined Nehru Yuva Kendra Hamirpur (Uttar Pradesh ) as District Youth Coordinator, I was thrilled beyond expectation to explore the Bundelkhand region. I had heard the stories of Aalha and Udal of Mahoba and wanted to visit the kalinjer fort of Banda. In the initial days of my posting, I had set the target of visiting at least 25% of villages of every block. The visit to the interior villages and the interaction with villagers completely changes my perception of villages in India. Mahatma Gandhi had said that the soul of India lies in villages and I observed that this soul was dying. Poor sanitation, open defecation, malnutrition, rampant poverty and garbage had engulfed the villages. During one of my visit to Kurara block of Hamirpur, I discussed this problem with the director of Krishi Vigyan Kendra and asked his help in making the villages a better place to live in.

Nehru Yuva Kendra Rampur in collaboration with Krishi Vigyan Kendra responded to the waste management challenge by building compost pits. Each compost pit (with a capacity ranging from 1- 1.5 tonnes) was provided enclosed sheds for composting wet waste: The pits are filled in rotation, over a starter bed of dry leaves, with one-foot layers of hand-sorted wet waste plus a layer of cow dung-slurry as a compost starter, and allowed to mature for 30-60 days. The youth club members fully segregated wet waste being hand-picked to remove coconut shells and other hardto-compost items, on the one hand, and clean dry waste carefully sorted into different bins for sale, on the other.

The officials of Nehru Yuva Kendra with support from the youth club members proactively and completely stopped sending any waste to open dumpsite. They started doorstep collection of mixed waste in Raghava village in Hamirpur, using primary collection vehicles and youth club members to transport the waste to the compost pits: These are run by female youth clubs who are provided with covered space for sorting. They can collectively keep the sale proceeds of both the compost and dry waste, and Krishi Vigyan Kendra Hamirpur (UP) pays for electricity and water. We were determined to achieve doorstep collection of waste, fully segregated at source.

There was also an awareness campaign, which involved the District Magistrate of Hamirpur and other high officials leveraging social media by posting photos of themselves in their home kitchens with separate bins for wet and dry waste. All workers down to the lowest level, and all government employees, were urged to keep their home wastes unmixed before asking others to do so. Religious leaders of various communities were also approached and urged to convey to their followers the importance of keeping wet and dry wastes unmixed and to avoid the utilization of one-time-use plastics. Youth Club members were roped in to spread the good word. Schools were required to get pledges signed by all students and their parents. With the cooperation of Nehru Yuva Kendra Rampur (UP), we reached out to all the homes. Such campaigns to interact with the community are successful only the doorstep collection teams cooperate and strictly refuse to require mixed waste. After accepting the segregated waste, they ought to visibly transport the wet and dry waste — separately — to realize the trust of these who have complied, by not mixing the wastes at source. Micro-planning of collection vehicle routes manned by youth club members, and tracking their punctuality and performance, is also key to citizen cooperation. The advantage of such intense focus is that when initial success is achieved for the project, it's relatively easy to take care of the system. Prolonged deadlines for compliance, one area at a time, don't work.

At a morning muster, youth club members gave each waste collector a notebook containing a message from the District Youth Coordinator of Nehru Yuva Kendra Hamirpur (UP), which they have to show to each household on their beat. They also got to collect a signed pledge to not mix their wastes and not use banned plastic: this was often done to develop bonding with the households. After two warnings, mixed waste is temporarily accepted on payment of a fee of Rs 10. Thereafter, mixed waste pickup is strictly refused, with the complete backing of the superior officers of the doorstep collectors. A follow-up visit is formed an equivalent evening to the defaulter household to seek out where their uncollected waste went.

This model can work equally well in every ward of a metro city. The collective challenge of managing solid waste in our metros requires, above all, the engagement of the community.