Hyderabad: Over 4,000 metric tonne of solid waste is generated within the GHMC limits everyday, most of which is left unprocessed and added to the burgeoning landfills of the city.

Though decentralised waste management is proposed as one ways to ease the problem, lack of awareness about the solutions or lack of inclination has acted as a hurdle; and solving this problem is what the organisers of Swachh Mela held in Padmarao Nagar in Secunderabad on Sunday aimed at. At the mela, solutions to urban waste management, low-cost and community-managed solutions were showcased by the participants.

Organised by YouSee, a non-profit organisation aiming at improving quality of life for all, the fest had organisations creating awareness about community composting units, individual terracotta composts etc. Solutions for non-residential establishments were on display and experts provided advice on how to go about waste segregation and disposal.

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Visitors also got to learn about terrain-specific rainwater harvesting, efficient solutions to save energy, alternative sources of energy amongst other things.

“The urban population is aware of the problems, but what they lack is awareness about the solutions. The platform of Swachh Mela was created to help people know the ways to tackle the problem at an individual level,” said additional director of Andra Pradesh forest academy P. Raghuveer.

Demo units were put on display and experts provided advice on how to go about the waste-segregation and disposal. Visitors were also adviced on terrain-specific rainwater harvesting, efficient solutions to save energy, alternative sources of energy amongst other things.

Creating a compost pit to manage kitchen waste was also another key aspect that the Swachh Mela touched upon.

“Compost pits can be put up in any place in the building and on any surface like garden or concrete floor,” said Rajesh Prasad, a volunteer with YouSee.

The units don’t stink, take very less space and are low-cost, starting at price Rs 300.

Hyderabad women set up a compost pit

When a group of 30 women from Amsri Central Court Residency in Chilkalguda of Secunderabad took up the initiative of setting up a community composting unit in November 2014, they faced a few challenges initially.

“We started off on an enthusiastic note, but later on problems arose during the monsoons,” said Anjali, one of the women who worked on the initiative.

The women then charted out a plan for garbage collection. Now, a garbage collector ensures that kitchen waste is not disposed off and a trained gardener looks after the pit.

“The pit has produced so much compost that we plan to start retailing it soon,” said Ms Yamini, another resident.