Vipul Green develops in-house waste management system

Vipul Greens, a condominium in Sector 48 on Sohna Road, has set up a waste management system to convert organic waste into manure.

Vipul Greens, a condominium in Sector 48 on Sohna Road, has set up a waste management system to convert organic waste into manure. The project is an initiative by the residents of the condominium with no assistance from civic agencies.

Household waste will be segregated into organic, sanitary and reusable waste in different bins and bags. The plant capacity is 400 kilograms a day. (HT Photo)

The condominium that spreads across 17.5 acre has commenced segregation of waste at source. The household waste will be segregated into organic, sanitary and reusable waste in different bins and bags. The organic waste would be used for composting and making manure for plants and gardens.

In the last two moths, several workshops were held for residents to raise awareness about solid waste management and composting.

“The organic and sanitary waste is collected in two separate bins, and the reusable or recyclable and e-waste is collected in bags. The reusable materials include newspapers, glass, plastic bottles and e-waste, which is given to a private vendor hired by the RWA. The employees of vendor also collects the sanitary waste. The organic waste is utilised for composting and generating manure. Around 70% of waste generated in households comprises organic waste,” Amit Jindal, RWA president of Vipul Green, said.

“Also, a rotating barrel composter is being made for composting organic waste,” Jindal said.

The installation process and planning took two months and the RWA has spent nearly Rs 11 lakh. The plant capacity is nearly 400 kilograms a day, including both kitchen and solid waste. The condominium generates close to 250 kilograms of organic waste.

“Even for kitchen waste, we are organising town hall meetings and door-to-door campaigns for fellow residents. We have converted garbage dumps into micro forests and now we are minimising our share of the solid waste,” Naresh Goyal, general secretary of the RWA, said.

A technical team hired for the project has provided the workforce to operate the entire plant.

In a city like Gurgaon, which generates close to 500 tonnes of municipal solid waste, the initiative is significant as the solid waste treatment plant in Bandhwari along the Gurgaon-Faridabad Road has been shut since June 2013. Garbage from Gurgaon and Faridabad is currently dumped at the plant.

The decentralised treatment is the only way to prevent garbage from piling up in open landfills, residents said.

The condominium also has seven rainwater harvesting pits that help boost the groundwater level. It is a zero water discharge society as it operates a 400 kilolitre per day sewage treatment plant in the complex. The treated sewage is used for in-house horticulture activities.

Last year, the civic agency had installed treatment units in five upscale condominiums -- Vastu Apartment in Sector 55, Hamilton Court in DLF Phase 4, World Spa in Sector 31, DLF Courtyard in DLF Phase 5 and ANX apartments.