While the city produces nearly 3,000 tonnes of waste each day, and non-biodegradable material including plastic lies heaped in mounds on roadsides, there are some people out to fight the garbage problem. Among the latest initiatives to make the city litter-free is BJP MLA BN Vijayakumar’s drive to clean Jayanagar. Speaking to DNA, he said that he drew inspiration from the waste management plan of Mumbai city.

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Why the drive towards waste management now?I visited Mumbai along with six other corporators and engineers last week. One thing that struck us was the solid waste management plan there, which is also being implemented in earnest. And after coming back, I visited the solid waste plant in Bangalore. It was quite a disappointment, and I realised that something needs to be done. We’ve launched the campaign to make Jayanagar litter-free in six months. Convertors will be set up to deal with the waste, and these will cost in the Rs 8-25 lakh range, depending on the quantity to be processed in each ward.Ideally, wet and dry waste should be segregated at source. NGOs like the Art of Living Foundation and institutes like IIM, apart from the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, would be involved in the drive to collect and process garbage.

How do you hope to get people to join the effort?We are in campaign mode. Four groups will visit educational institutions. Word will spread, and the matter will be thoroughly discussed. Celebrities like Sunil Puranik and Murli Manohar, along with 45 volunteers, will visit schools. Corporators Nagaraj and Somashekhar will visit parks and play grounds, and talk to people. Volunteers from Art of Living and corporators Nagamurthy and Chandra will visit religious institutions and banks. Even public sector units will be drawn into the whole process of reducing waste and managing or recycling garbage. People should be persuaded about the need to give up the convenience of plastic and adopt some means of packaging that is less harmful for the environment.

So what is your plan for the commercial areas of Jayanagar?From August 15, plastic will be banned in the constituency. The ban will extend to shopping complexes and markets. A stringent cleaning drive will be undertaken. We hope that once the area is clean, people will think twice before littering. We are also in talks with a few companies so that we can engage people to collect and reuse plastic waste. There are also talks on using plastic waste in making roads that have smoother surfaces.

How are you going to push for the alternatives to plastic?We will promote the use of cloth and jute bags. We are in talks with the jute corporation to procure bags and sell it to shopkeepers at a discount.

But such campaigns have not proved successful in the past. We cannot give up trying, no matter how often we fail. We will aim to make Jayanagar litter-free, even if not completely plastic-free.