To Have Bins Or Not

Posted by Srijith in Concerns, Featured | 2 comments

When and where was the last time you spotted a trash bin in Trivandrum? I am sure you wont see a single one with in the city which is placed by the corporation. But why? I was having the same question and while working for a group TidyCity I came to know that the government now follows a no-bin policy so as to avoid filling of public bins with household wastes. I am not sure how true the claim is. But they have a point there.

I remember, a few years back, we had huge yellow trash boxes, identified by the rotten smell all over the city. They were huge enough to dump an autorikshaw inside it. Those days I was proud to say Trivandrum is having some sort of advanced waste management system. I thought they were for dumping wastes from our home. Ignorant I was. So were the local people out there. There were no signs on it about what they were supposed to hold. Infact, those huge bins were collection points from where the trucks collects the local share of waste. The system, how it was supposed work was like this:

1. Some one collects waste from your home

2. They will dump it in the above said bins

3. Trucks will transport it to the processing center.

But how it worked in reality was like this:

1. Houses refused to pay the minimal bill for the waste collectors.

2. All those who wanted to keep ‘their’ home clean, packed all waste in a plastic bag, carry it along on their morning walk, and with a not-so-accurate throw dropped it ‘in’ or ‘near’ the bins.

3. Truck operators take the waste from the bins, but ignored whatever waste lied around/near it.

The outcome of the reality was that the trash collectors who were supposed to get their income from the locality were left out with out any income, and where ever there is a bin, will be easily recognized by the pungent smell. This smell made the trash-throwers stay further away from the bin and as a result their throws became less accurate and the waste spread started increasing. Slowly people wanted to remove the waste bins from their locality because of smell and the sudden surge in the population of rodents, mosquitos and dogs who survives on the waste left on ground. Within a few years after their introduction, those big yellow trash collectors disappeared from the streets. The waste is now collected directly by the trash trucks.

Some how the government decided not to provide waste bins in the city because of the above experience. I am not sure how they mistook a waste bin from what we had before – the big yellow trash collector. A waste bin/trash bin is “a bin that holds rubbish until it is collected” where what we had before was an intermediate holder of collected waste. Whatever it is, Government have now decided to make Trivandrum a bin-free area where you wont see overfilled bins from where dogs and crows fight for their share of food. A good initiative I must say! But aint it sounds like an old malayalam proverb – “Eliye pediche illam chuduka”. Clearly their (Government) intention was to avoid a situation where household wastes are directly dumped into the bins and there by avoiding a chance of income to waste collectors (Kudumba sree). But if it was the case, why cant they make bins like what other cities have? A reasonable sized bin with a small enough opening to dump wastes like – wrappers, covers, tickets, bottles and things like that. Some of the areas in Trivandrum are declared as litter-free zones. And it includes tourist hubs like Museum. Consider I am a tourist and I have a packet of biscuits. If I am finished with the packet, what am I supposed do with the wrapper? Keep it with me until I reach home or another city where I can find a bin? Impossible. You cant do it.

Wsste bin with practicable design not allowing dumping wastes in bulk.

It is an accepted fact that unless there is a place to dump the waste with in a short walkable distance, people are prone to litter where ever they stand. This is because the violator is not getting any direct benefit from walking upto a distant trash bin or keeping the trash with him till he reach home. Ofcourse there is a big benefit in it, which is keeping the place clean, but for that no one is keen enough for that.

So, we must have bins in city and in plenty. Like one in every 100m. It must be small, and in a practical design where we can avoid dumping waste in bulk. These has to be cleared off before they are filled up. Thrice a day will be sufficient. Littering must be made punishable. Now with surveillance cameras in key points, violators can be easily identified with proof.

TvmLife is asking your opinion on this subject. What do you think about the no-bin policy in Trivandrum? Dont we need bins in public places? Do the bins place the kudumbasree unit’s profit at stake? Let us know. Every single opinion matters as we are planning to talk with the officials on this matter. So if we can prove them what the citizens want, it will be a great help.

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